DND investigation of possible buried Agent Orange cache goes deeper
It could take months for military to learn if anything toxic was buried in an overgrown corner of CFB Gagetown
Murray Brewster· CBC News·
72 Comments
Brent Grywinski
If there is Agent Orange in that spot, Al White should be declared a national hero for protecting Canadians now and in the future.
David Amos
@Brent Grywinski Methinks everybody has his dog has known about the Shirley dump location for many years. The Feds hve have likely removed the crap long ago and let the brush grow back before finally appearing to be ethical N'esy Pas?
Ken Douglas
In BC they used Agent Orange to keep the alder trees down under power lines going through the forests along the coast. Next thing the hordes of Ruff grouse were gone. BC Hydro tried to blame it on the wolves until it was noticed they couldn't produce the evidence...not even feathers. It turned out the eggs were barren....no chicks were hatching.
David Amos
@Ken Douglas Its been the same here
Gerri Biller
Why is this story open for comment when the one on immigration consultants accused of fraud, forgery and human rights violations isn't?
David Amos
@Gerri Biller Methinks It does not suit their liberal bosses to do so N'esy Pas?
John Black
Why is it the Canadian solders don't look like they have bin doing there 12 km runs in a long time.
Clive Gibbons
@John Black
This coming from a chunkier guy who can run more that 12km, you might be wrong. I have shamed more than one young skinny guy in my day...
David Amos
@Clive Gibbons Methinks there is no substitute for cubic inches in more ways than just one N'esy Pas?
Caroline Kaus
I have noticed that the articles that CBC opens to comments are usually ones that aren' controversial. I have asked them why they once opened a fluff piece on how hot is was somewhere but never open pieces like the amount of money that is hidden off shore to avoid taxes and how little our tax collectors go after the big fish. It will be interesting to see if this comment makes it through the vetting.
David Amos
@Caroline Kaus Perhaps you should Google me and KPMG sometime ?
Thomas G MacMillan
Even the NB Ministry of Transportation used it to kill roadside weeds etc.; it was more widespread than just the base.
David Amos
@Thomas G MacMillan YUP
Ken Douglas
National Defence has received reports of 11 other possible burial sites over the years — none of which the department has confirmed as accurate. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now that it has been officially denied.....we know it is true.
David Amos
@Ken Douglas Oh So True
Alison Jackson
This is almost as bad as Irving spraying glyphosates on crown land, destroying wild habitats, causing runoff to flood the Saint John river. Glyphosates have been banned in several countries and the WHO has declared it a carcinogen. Agent Orange was bad, but so is this and it's everywhere.
David Amos
@Alison Jackson You should read the Kings County Record before the Irvings bought it. They were spraying Agent Orange on the Susses=c area inthe early eighties I have the clippings in my my scrap book. I showed it to the Green Party Member I was running against in the last election and she quite simply didn't care. Go Figure
Orest Zarowsky
It's amazing what got buried on vrious bases. It just keeps surfacing. The scary thing is that a lot of stuff got buried that makes stuff like Agent Orange look harmless. And procedures were a lot sloppier.
Martin Clark
@Orest Zarowsky
Do you have exact information and proof for your comment? I
David Amos
@Martin Clark "Do you have exact information and proof for your comment?"
Are you a journalist or a lawyer or a cop?
DND investigation of possible buried Agent Orange cache goes deeper
It could take months for military to learn if anything toxic was buried in an overgrown corner of CFB Gagetown
Murray Brewster· CBC News·
Retired military police sergeant Al White, who claims to have witnessed the burial of Agent Orange barrels at CFB Gagetown, N.B., leads Saleem Sattar, DND's director general of environment and sustainable management, to the alleged burial site Thursday, June 28. (Murray Brewster/CBC News)
It was more than just a stroll down memory lane for Al White.
When the retired military police sergeant returned to Base Gagetown in New Brunswick last week, he brought with him the memory and the burden of friends lost to the ravages of time and cancer.
He also led scientists and environmental engineers from National Defence on a damp trek directly on Thursday to the spot where he claims dozens of barrels containing the notorious defoliant Agent Orange were secretly buried over three decades ago.
The location was not among the contaminated sites flagged by the military in the six decades since the base was established.
"It's good," White told CBC News. "I'm glad to be here to do this and bring some form of closure."
White claims that, in the late spring of 1985, he escorted a flatbed truck loaded with chemical barrels to a point near the base's tank training range, where they were buried in a large hole near an area known as the Shirley Road dump.
It happened before sunrise and White said he'd always found it suspicious. He kept silent, however, until he lost three friends — all former Gagetown soldiers — to cancer.
The speed and confidence with which he pointed out the site impressed defence officials, including the base's chief of environment services, a geophysicist and a environmental engineer.
"Pretty darn precise," said Pam Cushing, senior project manager with the National Defence Directorate of Contaminated Sites.
Cushing and White used maps and aerial photos of the area, wrapped in plastic against the rain, to confirm his recollection.
'A very vivid recollection'
The site he pointed out is just off a road junction leading to the training grounds. The uneven growth of the vegetation over the site caught the eye of Saleem Sattar, the department's director general of environment and sustainable management.
"You'll note there are taller trees over there and shorter here," he said. "So there was some activity. So we'll be able to look into it."
It will be months before geophysicists are able to confirm precisely what — if anything — lies beneath the tangled brush and thorny ground.
Sattar said White has proven to be a highly credible witness.
"He has a very vivid recollection of that activity from 30 years ago," he said. "The fact that he recalls precisely the road we have entered here on, and the fact he pointed out where a truck carrying barrels may have come in and unloaded some of those barrels ... he has a tremendous recollection that we need to verify."
Still, DND officials dispute the core of White's claim — that barrels buried at the site may have contained Agent Orange, which was used by the U.S. military in two separate sets of aerial spraying tests at the base in the late 1960s.
The defoliant, which was widely used during the Vietnam war, has been linked to various cancers by health experts.
There are four known burial sites at Gagetown containing drums of various chemicals, even asbestos waste. Those sites — some near wetlands — are capped with fresh soil and monitored for contaminated runoff.
National Defence has received reports of 11 other possible burial sites over the years — none of which the department has confirmed as accurate.
"We've never found any evidence of Agent Orange coming out of those areas," said Sattar.
"That being said, we are open to the possibility that there might be something out there. And that's really the reason we've asked Mr. White to come out today ... to help us rule out that possibility."
He said that, to the best of the department's knowledge, "all the residual or remaining stock from those [Agent Orange] tests were taken back to the U.S. on the same trucks they came in on."
The evidence defence officials offered to support that version of events was provided to CBC News during a background briefing: a press release issued by the military in 1985, around the same time White claims he witnessed the secret burial.
The defence department, in a statement late Tuesday, said it was at a loss to explain why a burial would have taken place at the hour White alleged.
"It is not clear why a disposal activity might have taken place in the early morning hours," said the statement. "While in the early- to mid- 1980s, the accepted environmental practice was for barrels to be perforated, triple rinsed and crushed prior to disposal as regular waste."
White stood by his version of events, saying he was told by a superior what was in the barrels and that some of the drums were marked with an orange stripe indicating they contained the defoliant.
"I know what I did and — like I said, time and time again — I will point it out," he said.
"It was 30 years ago. If something is there, that eliminates one more site."
Sattar said that, if something does turn out to be buried at the location, it might be barrels of herbicide. Officials tagged the location using GPS. The next step in the investigation will see searchers deploy equipment to detect magnetic anomalies. If they find evidence of metal buried underground, they'll come back and dig up the site.
A history of chemical use
Some local residents have fought for years to get the federal government to acknowledge the long history of chemical spraying at Base Gagetown. They say they're pleased the issue is back in the public spotlight.
Regardless of what the DND follow-up investigation reveals, Carol Brown-Parker of the Agent Orange Association said White's allegations have served to remind people of the military's years of chemical use on the base, and the resulting contamination of the soil.
She said she has no doubt that the military's decades of chemical herbicide spray programs are linked to local cancer rates and other health issues.
Brown-Parker said she remembers walking to school as a child in the 1960s near the village of Enniskillen, 64 kilometres south of Fredericton — remembers how the grass would be green one day and dead the next.
"It was all brown and crunchy underneath my feet," she said, "and I wondered, 'How could that happen?'"
Al White leads soldiers and DND scientists to the alleged burial site. (Murray Brewster/CBC News)
What Brown-Parker likely witnessed was the aftermath of one of three so-called 'spray drift' incidents which National Defence has publicly acknowledged. Chemical clouds meant to kill vegetation on base property were inadvertently blown onto nearby land and communities in 1964, 1972 and 1988.
Property owners were compensated for those spray drift incidents. The federal government paid out over $96 million to ex-soldiers exposed to U.S military Agent Orange tests that took place in the 1960s.
Area residents have long complained about cancer and other illnesses they attribute to decades of herbicide spraying on the base, including the Agent Orange tests. They say no one has claimed responsibility for what happened to them.
"I'd like an apology from our prime minister," Brown-Parker said. "It's not his fault, but all the prime ministers before him knew. The government knew what they were doing. They knew they were spraying harmful chemicals."
Defence officials would not address her claims. Sattar said that he believes a report written in the early 2000s by former New Brunswick health minister Dennis Furlong "definitely" addressed the health risks.
That report concluded the annual spray program "posed no long-term risk to human health and safety."
About the Author
Murray Brewster
Defence and security
Murray Brewster is senior defence writer for CBC News, based in Ottawa. He has covered the Canadian military and foreign policy from Parliament Hill for over a decade. Among other assignments, he spent a total of 15 months on the ground covering the Afghan war for The Canadian Press. Prior to that, he covered defence issues and politics for CP in Nova Scotia for 11 years and was bureau chief for Standard Broadcast News in Ottawa.
NB Power and lawyers such as Michael Dixon like to keep secrets from us but I see no reason to act like they do N'esy Pas?
---------- Original message ---------- From: "Gallant, Premier Brian (PO/CPM)"<Brian.Gallant@gnb.ca> Date: Sun, 1 Jul 2018 00:29:11 +0000 Subject: RE: Yo Chucky LeBlond remember me? Need I say what I read in CBC about Medavie Health Services is just more PURE D BULLSHIT? To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Thank you for writing to the Premier of New Brunswick. Please be assured that your email will be reviewed.
If this is a media request, please forward your email to media-medias@gnb.camedia-medias@gnb.ca . Thank you!
****************************** *******
Nous vous remercions d’avoir communiqué avec le premier ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick. Soyez assuré(e) que votre courriel sera examiné.
Ambulance contract details can stay secret, judge rules
Ambulance New Brunswick wins bid to keep contract details from taxpayers
Shane Magee· CBC News·
Over 30 Comments (Now the tally is 22 after the smiling bastards disabled all but 3 of mine thus far)
Ray Bungay
I want to hear from the Premier, Health Minister and Finance Minister as to why this is acceptable for any reason. To the other party leaders please make this an election issue! Thank you!
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David Amos
@Ray Bungay "I want to hear from the Premier, Health Minister and Finance Minister as to why this is acceptable for any reason."
Me Too. So I sent them an email last night.
David Amos
@Ray Bungay Methinks you should also ask "The Powers That Be" why my reply to this comment was blocked N'esy Pas?
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David Amos
"Methinks folks should read this real slow then ask the people knocking on your dor this summer seeking their vote a very simple question.
Who is the boss the public or the government? It certainly should not be Bernie Lord and his lawyer pals N'esy Pas?
The province, Rideout said, provided evidence that only set out known facts, then said it feels the full uncensored contract should be released.
"There are no facts to support that position," Rideout said.
The decision cannot be appealed.
LeBlond said he couldn't comment Tuesday because he had yet to read the decision. The province did not immediately respond to a request for comment."
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David Amos
@David Amos I shared this comment with many people last night byway of email. This morning I am having quite a giggle at the responses. Methinks a certain dude is about to have a bad day or my name ain't "Just Dave" N'esy Pas?
Taxpayer should be appalled at this decision. It is your tax dollars folks.
Ray Bungay
@Richard Riel This tax payer is for sure! This opens up the front door very wide to Shannex to come in and build nursing homes and keep things secret from the tax payers!!
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David Amos
@Ray Bungay YUP
Richard Riel
Does that judge own Medavie or a shareholder, hey can charge anything they want since there is no competition.
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David Amos
@Richard Riel YUP
Rosco holt
Protecting trade secrets from whom exactly?
We need to force this has an election issue. We can't afford to blindly trust politicians with taxpayers money anymore.
Richard Riel
@Rosco holt You should never ever trust politicians period. till proven otherwise.
David Amos
@Richard Riel Welcome to the circus
Pierre Cyr
Need to contest these rulings to the supreme court. Taxpayers have a right to know how much they are paying. These are banana republic rules that will lead us down a dark road.
Ray Bungay
@Pierre Cyr Yes fully agree! Makes Shawn Graham and the Atcon 6 look like choir boys!
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David Amos
@Pierre Cyr Methinks CBC claims the matter can't be appealed.N'esy Pas?
Richard Riel
Trade secrets from taxpayers ? they should demand answers, it totally eliminates competition and they can charge any time they want since there is no competition. New Brunswickers are on the hook for 10 years. You have been had by the look of the smirk on his face.
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David Amos
@Richard Riel "You have been had by the look of the smirk on his face"
Not all us have been had. Methinks Bernie Lord and Brian Gallant and lot of other people know that Chucky and his law firm are very afraid of me N'esy Pas?
Richard Riel
He and the judge must be from the same family and or connections and or liberal ties or shareholders with that company. Something is dearly wrong. Is he reading rendering from Irvings past deals made with government staffers ?
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David Amos
@Richard Riel Methinks you should Google the judge N'esy pas?
Redmond O'Hanlon
Time to change any ACT that allows for contracts with the government to be hidden from the public. Taxpayers should have the right to know how their tax dollars are being spent. "Confidentiality"agreements concerning public funds are nothing more than cloaks to hide behind by our elected officials and the companies that insist on them. If you want to do business with the taxpayers you should be prepared to make the details public or else stick to the private sector.Time for an end to this.
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David Amos
@Redmond O'Hanlon YUP
Ray Bungay
No way you can convince me, a NB tax payer, that this stuff MUST BE KEPT SECRE! This government needs to go this September they and the courts along with Medavie are a disgrace to this Province!
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David Amos
@Ray Bungay Methinks Bernie Lord thinks his latest gig is secure N'esy Pas?
Michael durant
Alot of things are kept from the public New Brunswick. I recall when the public was not allowed to know just the number of cases of C. Difficile in a Moncton hospital. how is such a poorly informed public ever expected to exercise an informed vote in this province is beyond me. That's just one example of the cost of imposed ignorance.
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David Amos
@Michael durant "That's just one example of the cost of imposed ignorance"
Methinks the solution is so simple and I have been explaining through five elections since 2004. Just VOTE. Please vote for anyone you wish in whatever riding you live in except for one person. Don't vote for the incumbent. Logic commands that sooner or later somebody ethical may find a seat in the House N'esy Pas?
rayma allaby
isn't that just lovely we pay their salaries and we can't know how much we are paying...most of the time you see them just driving around...have even seen one talking on a cell phone while driving.....to my mind it would be more cost efficient if the ambulances had bays to wait in instead of this aimless driving around
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David Amos
@rayma allaby "isn't that just lovely we pay their salaries and we can't know how much we are paying"
Methinks many a true word is said in jest N'esy Pas?
Doug Leblanc
Government could release anything they wanted. Instead they chose to pretend to be transparent, then hide behind RTIPPA legislation and not defend their position. Government didn’t want it released. They just wasted more money pretending to fight this. What can be so bad in the contract. Maybe the fact that there are big bonuses (profit) for language deliverables, and who gets to build and then rent the ambulance depots to ANB. A very profitable venture.
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David Amos
@Doug Leblanc "Government could release anything they wanted."
I agree hence the liberals got their fellow political animal Justice George Rideout to fix it for them so that they don't look bad before the writ is dropped.
Methinks this was not rocket science to figure out before the judgement was revealed. This is in fact incredibly dumb politicking by Brian Gallant and his mindless minions. However the truly comical part of this circus is that Blaine Higgs and David Coon will just continue...
Natalie Pugh
This is absolutely ridiculous that we are even discussing this. If it weren't for the liberal u de m elite running this province, privatizing ANB and enforcing this French language law we would be able to focus on other issues to improve NB. This is almost criminal. Why are taxpayers sitting back and allowing all of this? What kind of elected government refuses to openly disclose where and how much tax dollars are being allotted and spent.
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David Amos
@Natalie Pugh "Why are taxpayers sitting back and allowing all of this?"
Methinks the awful truth is that the folks have grown accustomed to the malicious nonsense and no longer give a damn that is if they ever did in the first place N'esy Pas?
Brad Little
If a private company wants a government contract, it should be mandatory that the particulars be disclosed. Otherwise, let it go to a publicly traded company where the financial statements can be seen. I don't accept this line of defence.
David Amos
@Brad Little I agree as obviously so do several others
David Stairs
this is nothing more than a cover up..and if you don't think they don't judge shop..think again..the corruption has got to stop..taxpayers paying Government Officials,Lawyers and Judges,and yet no access to their own,paid for information..what a wonderful system...so called governmental privilege has got to be removed...no more making laws to protect themselves from the legislation they create...
David Amos
@David Stairs I Concur Sir
Ambulance contract details can stay secret, judge rules
Ambulance New Brunswick wins bid to keep contract details from taxpayers
Shane Magee· CBC News·
Charles LeBlond, a lawyer representing Medavie Health Services New Brunswick Inc., says portions of the company's contract with the provincial government to operate Ambulance New Brunswick should be censored to protect trade secrets. (Shane Magee/CBC)
A judge has ruled no further details of the provincial government's contract with a private firm to run Ambulance New Brunswick need to be released to the public.
In a 35-page decision Tuesday afternoon, Court of Queen's Bench Justice George Rideout ruled in favour of Medavie Health Services New Brunswick Inc., which sought to block release of portions of its contract with the Department of Health.
The judge was asked to rule on whether the province could release an unredacted version of its contract with Medavie for the ambulance service, which the company has run since 2007. The contract was renewed in 2017 for another 10 years.
CBC News and the newspaper publisher Brunswick News Inc. had separately sought copies of the contract through right-to-information requests.
The province indicated it would release the whole contract for the purposes of transparency with taxpayers, which Medavie opposed.
While I may think it would be helpful to the public, I cannot order publication if it is prohibited under the Act or case law.- George Rideout, Court of Queen's Bench justice
The company went to court to block release of details related to staffing numbers, salary figures and other financial information.
In an hour-long hearing in Moncton last Friday, lawyers for Medavie and the province outlined their positions.
Charles LeBlond, a lawyer for Medavie, called the information the company's "secret sauce." Competitors could use the information to outbid Medavie in New Brunswick and other jurisdictions, he said.
Richard Williams, representing the province, said the government sought to release the full contract in the interest of transparency because of public interest in how the ambulance system operates.
Portions of the contract between Medavie Health Services New Brunswick Inc. and the provincial government for operation of Ambulance New Brunswick were redacted. The province sought to release the contract without any redactions, which Medavie opposed.
Ambulance New Brunswick, which had a budget of $97.3 million in the 2016-17 fiscal year, has faced public pressure over the past year.
There have been stories by the Telegraph-Journal newspaper and CBC News about out-of-service ambulances, and paramedics have held rallies calling attention to staffing issues.
While Medavie spent about 40 minutes outlining its position at the hearing, the province summarized its case in under 10, and Rideout suggested in his ruling that the province didn't give him much to work with.
New Brunswick's Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act includes provisions that set out trade secrets and information provided in confidence can be withheld from the public.
Sees facts on Medavie's side
"As I understand this matter, this Court is to interpret the law relating to Freedom of Information and apply the law to the facts," Rideout wrote.
"While I may think it would be helpful to the public, I cannot order publication if it is prohibited under the Act or case law."
In the decision that largely quotes previous case law and briefs filed in support of Medavie and the province, Rideout said Medavie's evidence is "uncontradicted."
The province, Rideout said, provided evidence that only set out known facts, then said it feels the full uncensored contract should be released.
"There are no facts to support that position," Rideout said.
The decision cannot be appealed.
LeBlond said he couldn't comment Tuesday because he had yet to read the decision. The province did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pierre-Yves Julien is retiring as the company's CEO after spending more than 2 decades at Medavie
Daniel McHardie· CBC News·
Bernard Lord, president and CEO of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, will be the next chief executive officer of Medavie, the company announced on Wednesday. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)
Former premier Bernard Lord will be taking over as the new chief executive officer of Medavie in September, after serving on the company's board of directors for the last eight years.
Lord will be replacing Pierre-Yves Julien, who is preparing to retire after being with Medavie for more than 20 years.
"Bernard's leadership, vision and track record of innovation make him the ideal leader to help Medavie strengthen its position and realise its full potential," said Michael Decter, the chair of Medavie.
"He was chosen to lead Medavie in this pivotal role, providing strategic leadership to further Medavie's vision to transform primary health care."
Lord served as premier of New Brunswick from 1999 to 2006.
He is the president and chief executive officer for the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association. He is also the chair of Ontario Power Generation.
The former Progressive Conservative premier's name had been floated as a possible successor to Stephen Harper when the federal Conservatives were defeated in the 2015 federal election. Lord has said he has no interest in leading the federal Tories.
Medavie's statement indicated Lord was chosen as the new CEO after a national search, which was led by the board and a recruitment firm.
Lord said in a statement that he wants to build on the culture of innovation at the company.
"I am looking forward to leading a dynamic national company with roots in Atlantic Canada and immense potential to improve health care delivery," Lord said.
Medavie has more than 6,000 employees and has two operating companies, Medavie Blue Cross and Medavie EMS.
Medavie Blue Cross delivers health, dental, travel, life and income replacement insurance to companies and individuals.
Meanwhile, Medavie EMS is the largest provider of emergency medical services in Canada and is the largest ambulance operator in Massachusetts.
The company is also involved in other facets of the health sector.
New Brunswick Health Minister Victor Boudreau announced in February that Medavie EMS will oversee the extra-mural health and Telecare programs.
RCMP watchdog agency hit with harassment allegations
Emails obtained by CBC mention 'harassing behaviour' and 'disparaging comments'
RCMP watchdog agency hit with harassment allegations
Emails obtained by CBC mention 'harassing behaviour' and 'disparaging comments'
Catharine Tunney· CBC News· Posted: Jul 05, 2018 4:00 AM ET
The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission's function is to investigate allegations of poor conduct made against RCMP officers. Last year, it released a scathing report on the RCMP's workplace culture, calling out systemic bullying, intimidation and sexual harassment. (Valerie Zink/Reuters)
The watchdog body set up to monitor the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for wrongdoing has been rocked by its own allegations of workplace harassment.
The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission, which investigates the public's complaints against the RCMP, launched an investigation after hearing allegations of inappropriate workplace behaviour from within its own ranks, CBC News has learned.
Documents released under access to information law show concerns were brought forward by "multiple sources," prompting the independent agency to approach an outside firm to investigate sometime between October 2016 and 2017.
"As a result of allegations of inappropriate workplace conduct at the CRCC, a preliminary examination of the facts was undertaken by an independent investigator, which led us to initiate a series of formal investigations. These formal investigations are currently underway," wrote spokesperson Kate McDerby in an email to CBC this week.
"The Privacy Act ensures that the personal information of individuals held by the government is protected and it would therefore be inappropriate to make any further comments."
The commission didn't offer many details about the case, but emails obtained by CBC mention "harassing behaviour" and "disparaging comments" and warn that "recent actions ... have intensified."
One person, whose name is redacted, pointed specifically to "disturbing emails." Another email writer noted that, despite blocking an alleged harasser's phone number, the harasser "left three voicemails on my personal phone."
'Can't stumble on this'
"I understand that this is a painful situation and I hope to be able to make this process as pain free as possible for you," wrote Julie-Eve Picard, the commission's human resources manager, to one of the unnamed complainants.
Guy Bujold, former president of the Canadian Space Agency, is filling two positions on the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission on an interim basis. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)
A simple handwritten note drafted within the CRCC and dated May 1, 2017 offers a glimpse of how seriously the commission took the allegations: "Can't stumble on this."
The commission's job is to investigate allegations of poor conduct made against RCMP officers. Last year, it released a scathing report on the RCMP's dysfunctional workplace culture, calling out systemic bullying, intimidation and sexual harassment.
The commission's final report recommended, among other things, that the police force improve its harassment policies, procedures and training.
The commission falls under Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale's portfolio.
"While we do not comment on personnel matters or matters under investigation, we can assure Canadians that any allegation of inappropriate workplace behaviour is taken very seriously," wrote his spokesperson Scott Bardsley.
"Harassment is completely unacceptable. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale is committed to ensuring that all the agencies in his portfolio, including the CRCC, are workplaces free from harassment."
The commission underwent a change at the top in late 2017. Guy Bujold quietly took the reins as the commission's acting chair in the fall of 2017 after Ian McPhail, chair of the agency since 2010, took a leave of absence. McPhail left the commission in November.
According to the 2017 public service employee annual survey, 14 per cent of employees at the CRCC indicated that they have been victims of harassment on the job over the past two years.
"Employees of the CRCC have been under a lot of pressure and stress for the past six months at least," says the survey report.
Civilian Review & Complaints Commission for the RCMP For further information: Kate McDerby, 613-882-3117, Kate.Mcderby@crcc-ccetp.gc.ca; Anna Van Dusen, 613-862-5771, Anna.VanDusen@crcc-ccetp.gc.ca
Guy Bujoldworks as Interim Vice-chairperson for Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP. Guy can be reached at 613-952-8038
Guy Bujold is the Commission's Interim Chairperson.
Before his retirement from CANARIE Inc. in February of 2010 where he had been the President and CEO since October of 2008, Mr. Bujold held a number of senior positions in the federal public service, including those of President of the Canadian Space Agency; Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for Special Projects in the Deputy Minister’s Office, Assistant Deputy Minister of the Science and Innovation Sector, and Assistant Deputy Minister of the Operations Sector at Industry Canada; Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy and Communications at Infrastructure Canada; Deputy Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard; and Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services for both the Department of Finance and the Treasury Board Secretariat.
During his more than 33-year career in the federal public service, Mr. Bujold also held the positions of Director of Health Policy; Executive Director, Policy Coordination; and Director General of Intergovernmental Affairs at Health Canada. Mr. Bujold also worked as a policy analyst and program manager at the Treasury Board Secretariat and the Department of Finance.
Since retiring, Mr. Bujold has provided advice in the areas of policy, program development and uptake, and communications to government, and to for- and not-for-profit organizations. He is a member of the Board of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute.
Mr. Bujold holds an undergraduate degree from Laurentian University, Sudbury, and a Masters degree in Economics from York University, Toronto.
Karen Leibovici
Vice-chairperson and Member
Karen’s professional background includes personnel management, labour relations and social work. She has over 20 years of combined political and public service experience as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and as an Edmonton City Councillor.
While on City Council, Karen was involved in numerous key policy issues and led many city wide initiatives. She served twice on the Edmonton Police Commission.
In addition, Ms. Leibovici has undertaken leadership positions in other organizations such as President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), Chair of the Green Municipal Fund and President of the Alberta Association of Former MLA’s.
Karen has a Masters of Social Work Degree and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management.
Karen Leibovici (born May 27, 1952) is a politician from Edmonton, Alberta. Following a career as a social worker, Leibovici was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in 1993, representing Edmonton Meadowlark as a member of the Alberta Liberal Party. She held that seat for two terms until her defeat in 2001. While MLA, she held the positions of labour critic, health critic, intergovernmental affairs critic and caucus whip.
In the 2001 Edmonton municipal election she was elected to city council, and was subsequently re-elected in 2004 and 2007 for Ward 1 and 2010 for Ward 5. She has served as chair or vice chair of the community services, executive and transportation and public works committees, and the Edmonton Police Commission.[1]
While on the city council, Leibovici was a board member for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities for nine years, and was acclaimed as the president in 2013.[2] She was influential in spearheading the city's 10-year plan to end homelessness, revitalizing retail in west Edmonton, and through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, brokered a $53 billion infrastructure plan with the federal government for funding municipal projects across the country.
Government quietly appoints Guy Bujold interim RCMP watchdog
Former Canadian Space Agency president filling two positions on civilian commission
Alison Crawford· CBC News·
Guy Bujold, former president of the Canadian Space Agency, is filling two positions on the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission on an interim basis. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)
Canada's national police force has a new watchdog — at least for the time being.
While no formal appointment announcement has been made, Guy Bujold this month started serving as both interim vice-chair and acting chair of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission, which handles complaints about the RCMP.
Bujold, former president of the Canadian Space Agency, worked in the federal civil service for more than three decades before retiring in 2010.
The vice-chair position has been vacant since the fall of 2016.
Ian McPhail, who served as chair of the commission for seven years, took a leave of absence effective September 21. His term is formally up at the end of November but McPhail left early to resume his Toronto legal practice.
Without a vice-chair to assume McPhail's duties, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale asked Bujold to step in for a period of six months.
"[Bujold] was appointed because there was a vacancy and there was an immediate need to fill that position, the government moved quickly to appoint an interim vice-chair until permanent appointments can be made," said Tim Cogan, the commission's director of corporate services and communications. Cogan said no one is yet filling in for the commission's director of operations, who is also on a leave of absence.
Not having a vice-chair has hampered some of the commission's work.
Ian McPhail, chairman of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP, has left the post to resume his law practice. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)
In its recently released annual report, former chair McPhail pointed to the on-going investigation into the 2012 shooting of Gregory Matters during a confrontation with an RCMP emergency response team in Prince George, B.C.
McPhail wrote that he'd made 57 findings and nine recommendations about police training, policies and procedures, but that "the commission awaits the appointment of a vice-chairperson to complete its final report in this matter."
In an email to CBC News, a public safety spokesperson said the government has a new "open, transparent and merit based appointment process."
Sheila Fraser's review of RCMP lawsuits shows existing process 'inefficient and bureaucratic'
Force is facing 85 civil action claims costing 'hundreds of thousands' every year
Manjula Dufresne· CBC News·
Susan Gastaldo, Catherine Galliford, Alice Fox and Atoya Montague joined forces to ask Prime Minister Trudeau for help in RCMP harassment cases. (CBC)
The women who were the subject of Sheila Fraser's review of four lawsuits launched in British Columbia about harassment and sexual harassment hope the the federal government and the RCMP will apply all of the recommendations and bring about actual change within the police force.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale asked the former Auditor General to conduct the review after the women contacted him in November 2015, asking for help.
They said they had no confidence in the RCMP's internal mechanism s to deal with harassment.
Sheila Fraser agrees.
She says the four cases illustrate the existing grievance process is "inefficient and bureaucratic" and calls for a panel of outside experts — not police — to oversee harassment complaints and measures to prevent reprisals against those who complain of harassment, and also for health services to be "delivered by an independent external party or parties."
Report released
Fraser reviewed how the RCMP handled the sexual harassment cases of Catherine Galliford, Atoya Montague and Susan Gastaldo and the harassment case of Alice Fox.
Her long-awaited report was released earlier this week, along with the report of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission headed by Ian McPhail.
Goodale said the government was "strongly committed to whatever action is necessary to help RCMP members, trainees and employees feel safe and respected among their colleagues and supervisors."
Commissioner Bob Paulson, who started his tenure soon after former B.C. spokesperson Cpl. Catherine Galliford spoke to CBC and brought the issue of harassment to the forefront, said the RCMP cooperated fully in the investigations.
However, he said the RCMP had already made changes based on other reports and recommendations and that cultural change takes time.
Former Auditor General Sheila Fraser reviewed the RCMP's handling of harassment complaints and concludes outside oversight of the process is needed. (Chris Wattie/Reuters)
All four women have been off work, struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The RCMP settled with Galliford in 2016, four years after she launched her lawsuit. The other three cases are still pending.
Fraser's report says there are currently 85 civil action claims against the RCMP by employees, half of them about harassment.
She also says "many hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent every year to defend the RCMP against claims by its employees."
Critically, Fraser said the actions of the RCMP thus far have been to protect its image rather than deal with the abuse and the abusers.
Lack of accountability continues
She also said there has been a trend to lead harassers towards resignation or early retirement and no one has been dismissed for unacceptable behaviour.
"It lacks the closure that victims need...there has been no accountability...the message is that harassment is not taken seriously by senior management," Fraser said.
She urges the commissioner of the RCMP not to accept resignation or retirement in severe cases.
Outside oversight needed
Both Fraser and McPhail say more needs to be done and recommend outside expertise to oversee aspects of the RCMP — including harassment resolution, health services and human resources — which are now managed in-house.
Catherine Galliford says "there is still tremendous lack of trust" and people are scared to complain after seeing what happened to her and others.
Mediation not litigation
Susan Gastaldo's lawyer, Walter Kosteckyj, said the women are hopeful the report will lead to settlements and "real and substantive change in the RCMP".
"The RCMP goes kicking and screaming as far down the litigation process that they can instead of addressing and dealing with the problem."
He points to the Fraser report, which says mediation — not litigation — is the preferred route. Alice Fox told the CBC she agrees with Fraser that the force needs independent oversight. "We talk about transparency...but this isn't working, let's make the change we need."
"There are so many good members in the police force, they deserve this. I did too but my ship has sailed. I'm in the process of being fired."
Civilian employee Atoya Montague says she is pleased with both reports and is hopeful about the government's commitment, but worries Fraser's report was buried to minimize its reach and impact.
She also pointed to Fraser's concern that there is no attempt to resolve outstanding lawsuits. "Action is taken to dismiss the victims. This one in particular applies to me as they are proceeding with my discharge later this month."
Go figure why the government's propaganda machine commonly known as the CBC would block three versions of this comment if not to protect their LIEbrano bosses???
Content disabled. David Amos
@Lou Bell Methinks that you may know that in 2013 knew the actuaries who conned Higgs and his union cohorts were profound liars. I put it writing and posted it in blogs long before this issue became an matter of history and the lawsuits began.
In a nutshell Mr Sinclair our highest paid employee has had a mountain of money to play with on the stock markets. The pension plans were NEVER in jeopardy even in 2008. When Victor Boudreau's budget in 2009 compelled the taxpayers top up the bureaucrat's pension plan to cover for Sinclair's losses. Many politicians should not deny that I let everybody know just how disgusted I was immediately byway of emails and posted my words within blogs as well N'esy Pas?
Perhaps they don't think I know how to read N'esy Pas?
Investment target N.B. pension managers easily beat to generate big bonuses called 'a joke' Pension analyst says benchmark is inappropriately low, managers being over rewarded Robert Jones · CBC News · Posted: Apr 24, 2018 6:00 AM AT
My comments thus far today
David Amos Methinks Mr Jones must recall our conversation about the investment industry in late December of 2008 N'esy Pas? .
David Amos Does anyone recall Victor Boudreau's budget in 2009?
David Amos Does anyone recall how Mr Higgs rearranged things in 2013 that have inspired at least three lawsuits thus far?
Perhaps I should have a long talk with these dudes?
This blog was created to share my unique insights on pensions and investments. The success of the blog is due to the high volume of readers and excellent insights shared by senior pension fund managers and other experts. Institutional and retail investors are kindly requested to support my efforts by donating or subscribing via PayPal below. To get latest updates, even during the day, click on the image of the big piggy bank at the top of the blog. For all inquiries, please contact me at LKolivakis@gmail.com.
CBC knows for a fact that I crossed paths with the latest US Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his boyz in the FBI bigtime way back in 2002.
Just Google three names and start reading
Robert Mueller David Amos CBC
I know for a fact that Mueller is a crook and proved it long ago. Why do you think I sued the Yankee Feds in 2002 and then ran for pubic office in Canada five times thus far?
If you doubt me then read pages 1 and 2 of this ancient file
Fundy Royal campaign targets middle class with focus on jobs Fundy Royal voters have elected Conservatives all but 1 time in 28 elections over 101 years CBC News · Posted: Oct 17, 2015 6:00 AM AT
David Amos
Does anyone recall Victor Boudreau's budget in 2009?
"The New Brunswick government is forecasting a $740 million deficit in 2009-10. At the end of its four-year cycle, the budget document suggests there will be a surplus of $27 million.
Market crash impacts pension calculation
But that calculation excludes $300 million per year pension expenses required because of the stock market crash.
Boudreau's argument is that if the markets rebound, the pension expenses will shrink or vanish. And since that's beyond his control either way, it's not fair to count it in the deficit elimination plan."
David Amos
Does anyone recall how Mr Higgs rearranged things in 2013 that have inspired at least three lawsuits thus far?
David Amos
@David Amos Methnks that these are the three well known lawsuits concerning Mr Higgs' scheme with the pension plans that the liberals went along with N'esy Pas?
Retired civil servants seek class action status in pension fight 13,000 retirees from New Brunswick government reject change to shared-risk pension plan Jacques Poitras · CBC News · Posted: Jul 12, 2016 12:39 PM AT
"The retirees threatened a lawsuit when the reforms were passed, but the new Liberal government elected in 2014 offered to negotiate with them instead.
But the Liberals refused to undo the reforms and instead offered a compromise in April 2015: a guarantee that retirees would get 75 per cent of cost-of-living increases every year for five years, and no reduction of benefits by more than 10 per cent for the next 20 years.
The retirees rejected that offer and filed their lawsuit last August, but the court must first approve that 13,000 people can sue the province as a group.
Kaplan is expected to spend Tuesday making his arguments. Steven Hutchison, a private litigator representing the province, will respond Wednesday. Kaplan will get the chance to rebut on Thursday afternoon.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada are also suing over how the shared-risk system affects some current provincial employees."
David Amos
@David Amos Need I say I found this interesting?
"In May, the Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick ordered that the Kennedy case be managed jointly with Levesque v. New Brunswick, in which the plaintiff is suing not only the provincial government, but also three unions (the New Brunswick Union of Public and Private Employees, the New Brunswick Nurses Union, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 37), and the trustees of the new shared-risk plan.
New Brunswick lawyer Pete Mockler, who represents plaintiff Guy Levesque, is seeking damages. But he’s not relying on Charter arguments; instead, he says the defendants have committed breaches of contract, trust and fiduciary duty. He claims the unions and the trustees breached the terms of his employment by concurring in the transfer of assets to the new fund and other terms of the legislation. Mockler believes a precedent established in 2012 favours his client.
“While the discussion about the shared-risk plan were ongoing, the government applied for a ruling on whether the province could relieve itself of its liability under the old legislation to top up the COLA adjustments, if there was insufficient money in the plan for that benefit. The judge ruled that the benefits were vested and couldn’t be taken away by negotiation.”
David Raymond Amos@DavidRayAmos Replying to @DavidRayAmos@FloryGoncalves and 49 others Methinks I should thank somebody for blocking my last comment it proved my point in spades to the lawyers involved in this matter but nobody else can read it N'esy Pas?
Province spends more than $2M fighting civil servants in court
4 years after lawsuits were launched, legal costs are racking up
117 Comments Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Amos
Methinks folks should Google David Amos Federal Court N'esy Pas?
Content disabled. David Amos
@Deborah McCormack "For all the comments I have read perhaps you would like the rest of the story"
Therein lies the rub I know for a fact some of my comments were blocked so it follows that other people were blocked as well Methinks you should ask yourself why N'esy Pas?
Rosella Melanson
Calling it "shared risk" is taking sides. Retirees have the risk. The former Chief Actuary for govt of Canada, Bernard Dussault, said so. NB Auditor General was not impressed with the "risk" the govt says it is taking in her 2013 report.
Content disabled. David Amos
@Rosella Melanson Methinks the actuaries who conned Higgs and his cohorts were profound liars and I told them so out of the gate and put it writing long before this issue became an matter of history and the lawsuits began. In a nutshell Mr Sinclair has had a mountain of money to play with on the stock market The pension plans were NEVER in jeopardy even in 2008. When Victor Boudreau's budget in 2009 made the taxpayers top up the bureaucrat's pension plan to cover for Sinclair's losses I let everybody know just how disgusted I was immediately N'esy Pas?
David Amos
@David Amos Methinks some folks know that my words were published elsewhere at the same time and that they will not go "Poof" in that domain so easily N'esy Pas?
Content disabled. David Amos
@Rosco holt "Why were pensions underfunded to begin with? "
Methinks they never were underfunded That was just what the actuaries claimed so that the mindless conservatives and union bosses would fall for the scam N'esy Pas?
David Amos
@Rosco holt Methinks folks would have enjoyed my reply to you but nobody can read it now N'esy Pas?
Content disabled.
David Amos
@Dianne MacPherson Methinks this is old news and definitely far from Fake News that even you may recall N'esy Pas?
In 2013 knew the actuaries who conned Higgs and his union cohorts were profound liars. I put it writing and posted it in blogs long before this issue became an matter of history and the lawsuits began. In a nutshell Mr Sinclair our highest paid employee has had a mountain of money to play with on the stock market. The pension plans were NEVER in jeopardy even in 2008. When Victor Boudreau's budget in 2009 compelled the taxpayers top up the bureaucrat's pension plan to cover for Sinclair's losses I let everybody know just how disgusted I was immediately and posted those word within blogs as well Remember me now? Trust that many lawyers and politicians certainly do
Valencia Deuchler
The average Canadian Deputy Minister basic salary ranges for those in the federal government's EX category in 2015 range between $106,900 and $202,500 a year. That is according to CBC. How dare he waste our government's time and resources and taxpayers money trying to get MORE? He made more in 1 year then most Canadians make in a decade! In fact I work 40 hours a week as does my husband and it would take us 2 years to make what he made in one IF he were at the lower end of the spectrum, did you not plan for tomorrow? Why are you hurting your fellow Canadians with your greed Mr. Levesque? The average wage of a CUPE employee on the low end is admin and it's between 48k-52k a year the mean is around 100k a year according to averages posted on Glassdoor... again .... you have the means to plan for your future stop being so damn greedy and taking money from fellow Canadians who earn way less than you and could use those resources now! Take the energy you are spending on this fight that is hurting your fellow Canadian and put it towards things like fighting the government for gas price reforms right now we are paying top $ for gas, in fact we are paying more for gas now at lower crude prices than we were when crude prices were $10 more a barrel, fight for getting THAT put in check. Rogers Telus Bell are taking a third of most Canadians paychecks that don't make what you civil servants make the prices keeping going up and up other than the internet package I have I have the most basic cable and phone and I still pay over 230/month, if you put your energy towards getting caps put on that you would probably make more from those two things than you are wasting tax payers money to get from the government directly. Think about it!
Dianne MacPherson
@Valencia Deuchler From out of Province are you ???
Content disabled.
David Amos
@Dianne MacPherson Methinks everybody knows that overpaid people from out of province are blocking my comments N'esy Pas?
David Amos
@David Amos Methinks I struck a nerve N'esy Pas?
David Amos
@David Amos Methinks some folks may find this an interesting read. No doubt many local lawyers will know the judge N'esy Pas?
September 13, 2017
"A group of retired public servants learned the hard way just how difficult it can be to mount a constitutional challenge to benefits changes, according to a Toronto lawyer.
In Bemister v. Canada (Attorney General), retired members of the voluntary public service health-care plan, which also covers active federal employees, claimed a move to double their share of premium costs violated sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In 2014, the federal government shifted the cost-sharing split for premiums paid by retired members of the plan, boosting their portion to 50 per cent from 25 per cent. The government is phasing in the move, which was effective April 1, 2015, over four years.
Read: Government, public sector agree on changes to health benefits
In a verdict last month, Federal Court Justice Ann Marie McDonald rejected the retired members’ claims. “I conclude that the applicants have not established any breach of the Charter,” she wrote. “Further, had I concluded there had been a breach of Charter rights, I would have also found that the actions of the [Treasury Board] reflect a proportionate balancing of Charter values against the broader statutory objectives, and therefore that the [Treasury Board]’s actions and its decision were reasonable."
Dianne MacPherson
The plan was and is "unsustainable". We taxpayers are all tapped out !!! The only ones who will 'benefit' from these civil suits are the Lawyers !!!
David Amos @Dianne MacPherson "The only ones who will 'benefit' from these civil suits are the Lawyers !!!"
Methinks this lawyer is enjoying the litigation far to much and at our expense N'esy Pas?
Ronald Pink of law firm Pink Larson in Halifax represents the trustees of the shared-risk plan. He maintains the legislation is a necessary and reasonable solution to the pension conundrum.
“Nowhere is there an employer with a DB plan who is not under water, and every government is trying to find a way to reduce these liabilities,” he says. “At the same time, the objective is to continue providing a reasonable retirement allowance, and the way they’ve chosen to achieve that balance is by removing guarantees from employers and making pensions a joint venture with employees.”
Paul Bourgoin
Dr. Eilish Cleary. was muzzled and the health consequences affecting the People of New Brunswick will at the end of the day l cost more financially while inflicting pain and suffering to our NB residents. She was dead on with the scientific facts with regard to Glycophate! There must have been some political funding influence to arrive to such a decision!
David Amos
@Paul Bourgoin "Levesque would not give an interview to CBC because he is under a court order not to speak about the case, pending resolution of the latest motion."
Methinks that everybody knows the Crown can't put a muzzle on me N'esy Pas?
David Amos
@Paul Bourgoin Methinks its hard to a muzzle on Pete Mockler too N'esy Pas?
"New Brunswick lawyer Pete Mockler, who represents plaintiff Guy Levesque, is seeking damages. But he’s not relying on Charter arguments; instead, he says the defendants have committed breaches of contract, trust and fiduciary duty. He claims the unions and the trustees breached the terms of his employment by concurring in the transfer of assets to the new fund and other terms of the legislation.
Mockler believes a precedent established in 2012 favours his client.
“While the discussion about the shared-risk plan were ongoing, the government applied for a ruling on whether the province could relieve itself of its liability under the old legislation to top up the COLA adjustments, if there was insufficient money in the plan for that benefit. The judge ruled that the benefits were vested and couldn’t be taken away by negotiation.”
Rose Michaud
Not just living longer, but when Bernard Lord let hundreds go out on early retirement packages, that really took a huge amount out of a pension plan designed for people retiring at 65, not 50-55. And the rest of the civil service has to pay for Bernard Lords promise to 'reduce' the civil service. (Which he didn't, they of course just hired more back after they retired).
Dianne MacPherson
@Rose Michaud The largest employer in NB is the NB Govt.......a lot of votes there !!!!!! We are ALL going to have to 'bite the bullet' in order to get this Province back on its feet.
David Amos
@Dianne MacPherson Methinks there are a lot more folks who do not earn big government wages and who will have to get by in their old age without a fancy pension. They have the right to vote too N'esy Pas?
Marc LeBlanc
We're sorry for living longer
David Amos
@Marc LeBlanc "We're sorry for living longer"
Nay not I
Methinks all old taxpayers who do not have the benefit of a fancy pension should be grateful to stay alive long enough to watch this circus After all we are paying for it N'esy Pas?
Mike Morton
I find it ironic that the "free-the-beer" case, which was also complicated, was resolved very quickly relative to this file. It seems Government is more about the money than the people...
David Amos
@Mike Morton Methinks everything is political and its always about the money. In y humble opinion this is a case of greedy people who work for government making a deal to do themselves in and now that the light has dawned on their marblehead they what to change it back. However the old ones who were already retired had no say in the matter hence they have very legitimate beef but they cannot afford to argue the government abusing us all and using our money to do it N'esy Pas?
Paul Bourgoin
Dr. Eilish Cleary's stand on Glycophate was dead on and I wonder who had the political influence to overlook the scientific facts. Money over People Money wins every time but it does not make it right!
David Amos
@Paul Bourgoin "Dr. Eilish Cleary's stand on Glycophate was dead on and I wonder who had the political influence to overlook the scientific facts."
Methinks the lady took a golden handshake and no longer cares N'esy Pas?
Colin Seeley
The best thing the Alward govt ever did was to slow down the gravy train that was leading us to bankruptcy.
Nobody deserves an risk free pension . Especially those who are well paid and receive benefits the rest of us can only dream of like sick days and dental .
Why do those who work for Govt think they are so special !
David Amos
@Colin Seeley Methinks you will always continue to speak like a true blue conservative no matter what N'esy Pas?
David Amos
@Rosco holt Methinks you folks went way off the topic of this article N'esy Pas?
Fred Brewer Imagine being offered a job where you are told they cannot pay what you are currently earning, but instead they offer a guaranteed, fully-indexed pension. You accept the offer and spend the next 35 years working and after retiring, your employer says "Sorry, we cannot hold up our end of the bargain and we need to cut your fully-indexed pension. That's what happened here folks and it is a disgrace. You gave up 35 years of higher salary at your former employer only to be shafted by the government of New Brunswick in the end
David Amos
@Fred Brewer Methinks in many folks who worked in the private sector for years and got done in by a questionable employers suffered and lot more and the shareholders and our governments quite simply don't care N'esy Pas?
Here is a local example
Nackawic mill pensioners will fight Tory plan CBC News · Posted: Jan 19, 2006
Ex-Nackawic mill CEO gets 2 months in jail for hiding $8.4M from IRS George Landegger's sentence cold comfort for former employees left with underfunded pension CBC News · Posted: May 20, 2015 5:48 PM AT
@Dianne MacPherson Can't think of a proper reply, beside FAKE NEWS. LOL.
Content disabled.
David Amos
@Dianne MacPherson Methinks this is old news and definitely far from Fake News that even you may recall N'esy Pas?
In 2013 knew the actuaries who conned Higgs and his union cohorts were profound liars. I put it writing and posted it in blogs long before this issue became an matter of history and the lawsuits began. In a nutshell Mr Sinclair our highest paid employee has had a mountain of money to play with on the stock market. The pension plans were NEVER in jeopardy even in 2008. When Victor Boudreau's budget in 2009 compelled the taxpayers top up the bureaucrat's pension plan to cover for Sinclair's losses I let everybody know just how disgusted I was immediately and posted those word within blogs as well Remember me now? Trust that many lawyers and politicians certainly do
David Amos
@Rosco holt Methinks I should thank somebody for blocking my last comment it proved my point in spades to the lawyers involved in this matter but nobody else can read it N'esy Pas?
Anne Bérubé
Well, Alward wanted us not to live a long life, Gallant thinks the same, I call it bullying. Shame on both of them. Even the Courts are on it as well by postponing the procedures indefinitely. Everyone who did not accept a civil servant job with the Feds back then, now regrets it. I know I do.
David Amos
@Anne Bérubé Welcome to the circus
Joseph Vacher
Im sorry but your pension plans were underfunded, and unsustainable. welcome to the real world, where you dont get everything you want and that retirement allowance that no one in the private sector gets
Rosco holt
The Conservative party should foot the bill for this(it's their decision). Politicians pensions didn't go shared risk, but got more generous. Following the same train of thought we can't afford politicians pensions which are 6 figures a piece + perks & bonuses, all after 4 years of (dis)service.
Civil servants for the most part fullfilled their contractual obligations, while politicians continually reneg theirs.
David Amos
@Rosco holt "The Conservative party should foot the bill for this(it's their decision)."
Methinks they are broke because they can't manage money yet they want to oversee ours N'esy Pas?
Cash-strapped PCs selling party headquarters in Fredericton The Regent Street building could be all yours for just $479,000 Jacques Poitras · CBC News · Posted: Jan 12, 2018 6:30 AM A
@David Amos Politicians continue to make stupid and expansive decisions out of greed and power.
We need a way to make them accountable and discourage them from participating in this race to the bottom that we are in.
And the only way I see to get politicians to do the right things is to hit them where it hurts..... Their wallet.
stephen blunston
wow these greedy union and civil servants . boohoo . they should be thankful they have pensions at all. overpaid for the little they do . if these people worked in private sector and got paid by their worth they would ll have no pension and take a 45% pay cut do they not understand that NB is broke , they didn't take away their pensions like 85% of private businesses did just trying to make it a little better for province , and they are still getting golden pensions with the changes
David Amos
@stephen blunston I concur
Deborah McCormack
@stephen blunston Thank you for your compliment Having worked as a PH Nurse for thirty years and continue to volunteer Nice to know what my citizens think of me
David Amos
@Deborah McCormack What am I chopped liver? Say Hey to Hutchison, Kaplan and your friends for me will ya?
Lou Bell
It appears possibly many of these suits are spearheaded by deputy ministers , many of whom have been appointed by , and fed from the trough by their party of favour ! Could this just be an extension of " partisan politics " ??
David Amos
@Lou Bell "It appears possibly many of these suits are spearheaded by deputy ministers"
Methinks all of them were N'esy Pas?
Deborah McCormack
@Lou Bell you are so wrong Take a look at the membership
David Amos
@Deborah McCormack Trust that you don't know the whole story
Lou Bell
Actually N.B. 's pension fund is doing quite well now that it's out of the gready hands of the politicians. All of these people complaining haven't lost a dime in their pensions, and it doesn't appear that they ever will ! It appears they may just want more !
David Amos
@Lou Bell YUP
Lou Bell
Take a look at these people. They're the ones costing us money !
David Amos
@Lou Bell Trust that they don't care
John O'Brien
Why should civil servants who already enjoy a host of gold-plated perks, have guaranteed pension with COLA when most of the taxpayers supporting that luxury, are forced to make do with less and less every year. The stench of greed coming out of every door in Fredericton is becoming unbearable- politicians, civil servants, bureaucrats, contract workers , judges, cops, and on and on.
David Amos
@John O'Brien Methinks everybody knows I agree. Why else would I sue the Crown in 2015? Its interesting that nobody talks about that lawsuit N'esy Pas?
Deborah McCormack
For all the comments I have read perhaps you would like the rest of the story I am one of those retirees no not a Deputy Minister however I am a retired Nurse Average pension for a retiree 19 thousand dollars per year Very diverse group As a single parent for 27 years I could have used the extra pay that was taken from my cheque I did not have a choice although many individuals who could put money away in the private sector chose not to as they believe let the government look after me in my old age Also it was a union who renegotiated to change my pension When I had already retired and we know the mandate of a union is not to be concerned for the retiree So when you decide to malign a civil servant remember the pandemic scare H1N1 Snow plough operators NB Power when your electricity is down Public Health Inspectors with food safety The list is endless And by we are not victims only fighting for a contract that was denied
Dianne MacPherson
@Deborah McCormack "I am entitled to MY entitlements:" !!!!!
Content disabled. David Amos
@Deborah McCormack "For all the comments I have read perhaps you would like the rest of the story"
Therein lies the rub I know for a fact some of my comments were blocked so it follows that other people were blocked as well Methinks you should ask yourself why N'esy Pas?
David Amos
@David Amos "Also it was a union who renegotiated to change my pension. When I had already retired and we know the mandate of a union is not to be concerned for the retiree "
Methinks everybody knows your complaint is legit but the lawyers are not N'esy Pas?
Fred Sanford
Three things: 1. Civil servants pay significant payroll deductions for their pension plans - generally about 10% of their gross income. 2. Whether you think government pension plans are too generous or not, it's never right to change the terms of a pension agreement after someone retires. If the pension plan is unsustainable, change the terms, but phase them in for current and future employees - not retirees. 3. There are a lot of petty, jealous, bitter people on here that seem to begrudge people that have chosen to work in a career that offers a pension plan. How about making your own situation better rather than trying to drag everyone down with you?
David Amos
@Fred Sanford Cry me a river
David Amos
@Fred Sanford Methinks that CBC is rather dumb to believe that you are whom you claim to be N'esy Pas?
Gabriel Boucher
So let me get this straight. This civil servant lawsuit is being represented by the law firm of Stewart McKelvey, the same law firm that Mr. Gallant himself used to represent before he became Premier? See where I'm going with this? This is the part that needs to be investigated.
David Amos
@Gabriel Boucher Methinks that the Irvings, the liberals, NB Power the EUB, and everybody in the know knows that the law firm of Stewart McKelvey and I are far from done with our spit and chews N'esy Pas?
Chuck Michaels
Time to start naming some of these political types as parties to the lawsuits and seek damages from them. This whole concept of "crown immunity" is offensive.
David Amos
@Chuck Michaels Check my work
David Amos
@Chuck Michaels Methinks that Leonard Lee-White, the local liberals and many other "political types" throughout Canada would consider the affidavit of James Harnum an interesting piece of work as well N'esy Pas?
Lou Bell
In the years the shared risk plan has been in effect, no one has lost a red cent, except those who were duped by lawyers , insinuating they were gonna lose their shirt ! The pension plan has done quite well , actually exceeding yearly projections . For those fighting the change, your lawyers are gonna stretch this out as long as they can ! Should be the ones being sued !!
David Amos
@Lou Bell Methinks you will change your tune soon. and taxpayers will be relieved that we won't have to "Top Up" the pension plans like we did in 2009. It cannot be denied that stock markets have soared to astounding highs based on speculation only as the Yankee's national debt roared into the stratosphere. When Trump's Trade Wars make the worldwide economy take the predicable nosedive the recession of 2008 will look like a cakewalk in comparison. Lets just hope "The Donald" and his NATO pals do not start another war as well N'esy Pas?
Content disabled. David Amos
@Lou Bell Methinks that you may know that in 2013 knew the actuaries who conned Higgs and his union cohorts were profound liars. I put it writing and posted it in blogs long before this issue became an matter of history and the lawsuits began.
In a nutshell Mr Sinclair our highest paid employee has had a mountain of money to play with on the stock markets. The pension plans were NEVER in jeopardy even in 2008. When Victor Boudreau's budget in 2009 compelled the taxpayers top up the bureaucrat's pension plan to cover for Sinclair's losses. Many politicians should not deny that I let everybody know just how disgusted I was immediately byway of emails and posted my words within blogs as well N'esy Pas?
Content disabled. David Amos
@Lou Bell Methinks that even you would be curious as to what was in my last reply to you that was blocked just before the comment section closed N'esy Pas?
Province spends more than $2M fighting civil servants in court
4 years after lawsuits were launched, legal costs are racking up
Gabrielle Fahmy· CBC News·
After Brian Gallant and the Liberals were elected, they offered retired civil servants a compromise on pension changes, but retirees decided to sue instead. (CBC)
In the four years since lawsuits were launched by former and current civil servants fighting the government on changes to their pension plans, no cases have reached a resolution or settlement, and legal costs on both sides are piling up.
As of late 2017, the province had spent $2,378,524 on legal fees to defend itself in three lawsuits, CBC News found through right to information requests.
After outcries and protests, the Liberals, who came to power in the next election, offered a compromise, but retirees rejected it and filed lawsuits instead.
A lawsuit was launched in 2014 by retirees who alleged the changes made by the PC government were discriminatory, since retirees had paid into their pension plans through the years and were now vulnerable, based on their age.
Two other lawsuits were brought around the same time — one by a former deputy minister and another by current civil servants.
Pension reform was brought in by the Progressive Conservative government of David Alward, who argued the old system couldn't be sustained, especially with people retiring earlier and living longer. (CBC)
New Brunswick's Office of the Attorney General initially refused to disclose the amount spent defending the pension changes in court, citing solicitor-client privilege.
But after a complaint was made by CBC News, the office of the integrity commissioner said that while releasing the amount spent defending each case might compromise ongoing legal proceedings, the public had the right to know the total amount spent on the issue.
'It's sad really'
"I'm not surprised at the amount, it's sad really," said Claire LePage, a former deputy minister with the Department of Energy, who is now chair of the Pension Coalition of New Brunswick, a group formed when the changes were under consideration in 2012.
The coalition was first to file for legal action, representing 13,000 retired New Brunswick public servants. They were last in court in the fall of 2016 and decided to put legal proceedings on hold, pending resolution of another case, according to LePage.
"It's been a long journey so far," she said. "The province has used every tactic possible to burn everybody out.
"We've had to deal with … motion after motion, and that's very costly in court."
Claire LePage, a former deputy minister now part of a coalition challenging the pension reforms, accuses the province of stalling tactics to avoid trial. (CBC)
Another right to information request, this one made by the coalition, revealed the province had employed the law firm of Stewart McKelvey for the case, and that under the agreement, up to 23 lawyers could be working on the case at a time.
The Office of the Attorney General said that given the matters are before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment on any case or the costs.
"We've been in court since 2014, and here we are 2018, and really the essence of this case has not been heard in court," LePage said.
The Levesque case
The case where resolution seems the most likely is the one filed by Guy Levesque, a former deputy minister with the cabinet secretariat. He sued in 2015, alleging the break in contract is illegal.
Others are watching the case closely as they believe its outcome will impact the other proceedings. Levesque would not give an interview to CBC because he is under a court order not to speak about the case, pending resolution of the latest motion.
A third lawsuit is led by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, and CUPE, representing 800 current employees, including engineers and prosecutors.
The employees' argument is that changes to pension plans should have been negotiated, not legislated.
Some of the pension reform protesters had heated words for former finance minister Blaine Higgs, who pushed the changes. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
The province has fired back with a statement of defence saying it created a task force when looking at reforming the pension systems, and unions could have participated.
A few unions, such as the one representing nurses, got behind the reforms. Unions that left the discussions said they were one-sided.
As for Claire LePage, she said the proceedings have cost the pension coalition roughly $300,000 so far, which includes the money spent on its own case, and in support of the Levesque case.
Rationale for overhaul
At the time of the overhaul in 2012, the Alward government argued the guaranteed income system was designed at a time when people worked longer and lived shorter lives. Now, people were retiring earlier and living longer, making the plan unsustainable.
Without the changes, there wouldn't be enough money in the coffers to pay pension benefits to public workers, the PCs said, citing examples of companies that had slashed pensions when they went bankrupt.
The move was backed by the Liberals, who were then in opposition.
Mario Levesque believes the province has spent a lot of money on the lawsuits. (CBC)
Mario Levesque, a politics professor at Mount Allison University, said the province has spent a large sum of money on these cases, possibly to avoid dealing with something.
"It is a lot of money overall — $2.4 million and counting," said Mario Levesque. "But it pales in comparison to the amount of money the province would have to pay out to [pensioners] and government employees over time if they were to lose the case."
"So for the government, it's batten down the hatches and fight this tooth and nail all the way." Levesque said the government may be trying to wear the pensioners — like Claire LePage — down.
"It's a real David and Goliath case," he said. "They are fighting and pulling out all the stops to make sure this does not move forward.
"You figure an individual, how long can he or she stay in this kind of legal battle with their resources, compared to the government?"
About the Author
Gabrielle Fahmy
Reporter
Gabrielle Fahmy is a reporter based in Moncton. She's been a journalist with the CBC since 2014.
Retired civil servants seek class action status in pension fight
13,000 retirees from New Brunswick government reject change to shared-risk pension plan
Jacques Poitras· CBC News·
Toronto lawyer Ari Kaplan is representing 13,000 retired provincial civil servants in their lawsuit over changes to their pension plan. (CBC)
The New Brunswick government is in court fighting to stop 13,000 retired civil servants from banding together in a single lawsuit over the province's new shared-risk pension system.
Toronto lawyer Ari Kaplan is asking Justice Judy Clendening to let him represent the retirees as a group, which he says will allow the case to move ahead more efficiently.
The retirees allege the shift to the shared-risk system by the previous Progressive Conservative government violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, because it put at risk the money they had paid into the provincial pension fund over the years.
'These were not gifts'
"These were not gifts," Kaplan argued Tuesday. "This was their own money."
Kaplan told Clendening that it makes sense to allow a group lawsuit because it will be more efficient and "this case affects people."
This is a defined group of people, and the people we're looking to represent are vulnerable.- Ari Kaplan, lawyer
"It affects two per cent of the people in your province," he said. "This is a defined group of people, and the people we're looking to represent are vulnerable. They are elderly, and they are dying."
The shared-risk system doesn't guarantee a set amount of pension benefits the way the previous system did. That means the province doesn't have to make up the difference in years when the pension fund's investments lose money in the market.
The retirees argue that exposes their money to greater risk, though the province's model shows losses would only happen during a catastrophic financial collapse.
The system also allows the pension fund to "catch up" and erase those losses during years of of market growth.
Negotiations failed
The retirees threatened a lawsuit when the reforms were passed, but the new Liberal government elected in 2014 offered to negotiate with them instead.
But the Liberals refused to undo the reforms and instead offered a compromise in April 2015: a guarantee that retirees would get 75 per cent of cost-of-living increases every year for five years, and no reduction of benefits by more than 10 per cent for the next 20 years.
The retirees rejected that offer and filed their lawsuit last August, but the court must first approve that 13,000 people can sue the province as a group.
Kaplan is expected to spend Tuesday making his arguments. Steven Hutchison, a private litigator representing the province, will respond Wednesday. Kaplan will get the chance to rebut on Thursday afternoon.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada are also suing over how the shared-risk system affects some current provincial employees.
35 Comments Commenting is now closed for this story.
Dennis Atchison Three years ago I had a great interview on The Dennis Report about public sector pensions. The information and wisdom is even more applicable today ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Rm6qK4Gp7Y
Frank DeFalco The Province should draw a line, fulfill its obligations to current pensioners and put the rest of the civil service on defined contribution retirement saving plans...like the rest of the working world is on. These plans are too expensive which is why the private sector has moved away from them.
SarahRose Werner I can see why the province wouldn't want the judge to approve a class action lawsuit. If 13,000 people have to sue individually, there's a good chance that many will drop out due to lack of funds, ill health, etc. By me, that's the same reason the judge *should* approve a class action suit. The suit may or may not eventually be decided in the plaintiffs' favour, but all the plaintiffs as a class should be able to access the judicial process without undue burden.
Rick Aubie There is a collapse coming........just wait. All this the government says is disaster and meltdown scenario is going to happen. It's only a matter of when! Governments and their debts (our debts run up by them) are going to get a good kick as well when the credit rating agencies downgrade our debt, they adjust up the rates, then, wait..... there's a global financial crisis and the rates go through the roof. Insolvency is what that's called and PNB won't be calling Grant Thornton. All pension money and the province will be lost in a financial takeover by the creditors and bond issuers/buyers!
Laugh and spend freely at your own peril folks!
Jay Boucher-Langlais @Rick Aubie ; nothing of the sort is going to happen.
Willie Smith Hey CBC open up the immigration article as well as the gas one.....and a few more......
Rick Aubie @Willie Smith How about all of them? What is this a piece meal part time comment/story virtual news site? Joke comes to mind!
Frank O'Phil @Rick Aubie ; it's not CBC's mandate to open news topics to commenters. Their mandate is to report the news. If you wish to comment, you can do so on any topic by creating a site of your own!
Rick Aubie @Frank O'Phil They don't even report the news in a professional manner. Then to my point, either open them all or open none. How's them apples? and remember, it's "our" money running this outfit!
Frank O'Phil @Rick Aubie ; it's my money as well as yours and I happen to agree with CBC.
David Peters @Frank O'Phil
Problem is that cbc is obviously pulling for one side politically ... With huge amounts of public funding
Jim Joe Jackson It is done. The Alward government started this mess and the Libs are not going to reverse it.
Jon Livingston I don't think she'll allow this. For one, it means less money for lawyers who depend on making the justice system in New Brunswick difficult and expensive.
Joseph Vacher Why should my tax dollars be the insurance for your over inflated pensions?
Willie Smith @Joseph Vacher Why should your tax dollars be used for Corporate Welfare to create Welfare jobs???? That is how government creates work now with a big thank you from your Corps.....
Jim Joe Jackson @Joseph Vacher Because they earned it? Besides you honestly think the Federal government would let a province default on its pension obligations? Stop being brainwashed that this province is broke. There is plenty of wealth in this province.
Rick Aubie @Jim Joe Jackson Sure and it's all hidden away in untouchable places OR out of circulation!
Jay Boucher-Langlais
Rick Aubie, the Carnival Clown!
Beth Rave @Jay Boucher-Langlais; you can say that again!
reginald churchill Why is it that whenever there's a problem between the government of New Brunswick and the civil servants it always involves the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Can someone explain to me what the Charter has to do with investment. Oh well I'm sure Roger Melanson and the liberal gang will straighten out this mess with the rest of our tax money.
James Reed @reginald churchill
Their complain is that they are being discriminated against based on their age - basically grasping at straws to come up with a basis for a case.
Willie Smith @reginald churchill The Charter takes in "legal rights (e.g. the right to life, liberty and security of the person) and equality rights," I could be wrong but the "security of the person" was broken when the government broke the pension agreement and brought in the shared risk.. No security in the imaginary world of the stock market.... Eventually the stock market will crash again and a lot of people will be stuck with nothing except for the insiders.... LOL.....
Allan Wilson If we can afford duality then we can afford the pension liability risk.
David Kane @Allan Wilson -Well said Allan, best comment of the day !!!
Joseph Vacher @Allan Wilson
but we can't afford duality......
Samual Johnston @Allan Wilson where is the logic in that statement? if we can afford to buy beer and wine we can afford duality.....? nope does not make sense...
Jim Joe Jackson @Allan Wilson We can a afford a lot of things if we didn't constantly cut taxes on businesses. We would even have the much pined for balanced budget and even a surplus, if you wipe out the Graham, Gallant and Alward tax concessions.
Rick Aubie @Allan Wilson We can't afford either! That's the smartest observation of the day!
Pete A. Gore @David Kane ; same comment every day!
Rick Aubie @Joseph Vacher Plenty of flag wavers posting today and at every chance given by the CBC agenda!
Frank O'Phil @Pete A. Gore; same very few but very vocal harping this issue to death!
Jay Boucher-Langlais @Frank O'Phil; and it's not even on topic!
Samual Johnston @Mike Smith I dunno they seem to be selling lots o beer and wine these days.....that is just a plain fact.
David Kane @Pete A. Gore -Awesome, I didn't know Allan made the same correct comment every day.
Phil Nadeau Meanwhile the famous New Brunswick Union (NBU) just did nothing for its members and kept going on with the Share risk model like nothing happened.
New Brunswick Pension Coalition says reforms violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
CBC News· Posted: Jun 30, 2014 10:03 AM AT
The New Brunswick Pension Coalition is suing the provincial government over changes to the public sector pension plan. 2:20
The New Brunswick Pension Coalition is launching a lawsuit over the changes to the public sector pension plan, alleging the Alward government breached the charter rights of 13,000 pensioners. Ari Kaplan, a lawyer with Koski Minsky LLP, announced the court application on Monday.
The pensioners are alleging the provincial government’s pension reform violates provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms because they are vulnerable based on their age.
"A pensioner requires as much financial certainty as possible as they budget for the end of their lives" Kaplan said in a statement.
Clifford Kennedy, a member of the New Brunswick Pension Coalition, said pensioners plan to fight the switch to a shared-risk pension plan. (CBC)
"Before the Crown expropriates the retirement savings of older persons and redistributes their money to the public good to balance the budget, it must satisfy itself, through rigorous consideration of alternatives, that the policy is proportionate to its objective and there is no other rational policy alternative available."
The Toronto-based Koskie Minsky LLP specializes in the areas of class actions, pensions, labour and employment.
The Fredericton-based firm of Whitehead, Bird & Miles, of Fredericton will serve as the local counsel on the case.
Kaplan said he will request the court to order the provincial government to pay the legal fees for the pension lawsuit. In September, the coalition said fees for a lawsuit could be more than $200,000.
Kaplan said the provincial government's tactic of using legislation to override regular pension laws is both unfair for retirees and illegal.
"They've isolated you from your former workplace by excluding collective bargaining of the workplace, so there's no protection for you there," he said.
Finance Minister Blaine Higgs was confronted in November 2013 by protesters who were upset about the Alward government's pension reforms. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
"They've excluded the courts from giving any remedy so you are doubly isolated in order to protect yourselves here and that is why we are asserting a remedy under the charter."
The retirees say if the pension plan must be changed, it should not affect those who have already contributed fully and are receiving the benefits they deserve.
The controversy surrounds the provincial government’s move to a shared-risk pension plan.
Under the former public service pension plan, retired civil servants are sheltered from any risk of market downturns by the provincial government with guaranteed cost-of-living increases.
The proposed model also includes increased contribution levels and higher age of retirement phased in slowly.
Retirees maintain it's not fair to change their benefits retroactively.
Clifford Kennedy, a member of the pension coalition, said in a statement that pensioners will not let the reforms go ahead unchallenged.
“The Alward government has broken its contract with public service pensioners and we intend to continue our efforts to ensure government honours its promise to retirees,” Kennedy said.
80 Comments Commenting is now closed for this story.
Stanley Resident This government only knows how to tear down things. They have not created anything of substance during their term. Don't like the Enbridge contract - tear it up. Doctors contract - tear it up (that one back-fired). Promised civil service pension - tear it up. Yet Margaret Ann-Blaney still collects her paycheck every two weeks and new schools get built where they are not needed,,,,, I will not be convinced this action was "required" as long as Blaney continues to draw a cheque from the NB Government. They should try building confidence in NB instead of constantly tearing it down, what business in their right mind would set-up in NB knowing they could be the next victim and have the rules suddenly change on them?
JeffSmith12 I have no sympathy - in the private sector you're lucky to get a matching contribution let alone a pension. We are seriously in debt - it's time these fat cat pensioners - and I have seen them driving around Fredericton in their expensive vehicles - they're not hurting - to contribute to the solution.
Raymond Bungay Hmm, what are you folks going to do with the 22 cents a month you "MAY LOSE" each month. I have been told by a provincial retiree that might be what they would lose? As I am a Federal Retiree, I would love to have your situation, as staring in a few years time I will have to pay 50% more in my medical coverage and a lot of people don't have close to what you and I have? So please do us a favour, stop the bely aching and get on with what lives you have left. Too much to still do and little time left to do it.
Have any of you heard, there are no guarantees in life.« less
2Right4U @RIGHT ON So, you think it should be OK for politicians to throw honesty out the window? That they should be able to enact legislation DEMANDING people pay into pension plan then change the legislation changing the pension plan retroactively?
How would you feel if your bank suddenly decided that they didn't make enough for their shareholders and decided you needed to make retroactive mortgage payments?
FredZed @2Right4U exactly what retroactive changes are being made? The pension program is presently being moved to a shared risk model, no one is retroactively clawing back benefits that have already been earned and paid that I am aware of. So back up your point or all I see is disinformation being spread by those who don't even understand the proposed changes.
JimF13 These pensioners were treated horrifically. With the teachers, the bottom line was $400 million needed to be saved. Teachers had input as to how this goal could and should be met. An agreement that gave everything the government needed was reached.
The PSSA were simply told the decision and shared risk is a lie. Total risk has been switched to the retirees. The pension plan has been pillaged far past what was necessary to make the plan viable.
Government should go back and reopen negotiations and come to a resolution that saves the necessary money. Pensioners and employees should decide hot to reach that goal.« less
FredZed @JimF13 your dreaming if you think the pensioners will have any part in changes to their pension in any manner. You even start talking about it and they cry foul before they even know or understand what is happening. What are the pensioners going to do when the coffers are empty and there's nothing for anybodys pension or public services. They will just be happy with this province being run into the ground, but your benefits won't be changed right up to that point, good for you.
AnNyMoUS I have a hard time showing sympathy when the current employees have had no choice in the matter and in fact the pension plan has already changed....The new plan has also changed the eligibility criteria and there are people who were already living pay cheque to pay cheque now required to pay into a plan. The contributions per pay can be hefty depending on your pay.
And for those of you with a hate on towards civil servants - please don't generalize us all in one bucket. I truly care about the service I provide and the job that I do and I work several hours of unpaid overtime a week to ensure that things are done and done right.
Doc Holiday Who exactly is going to pay the taxes to keep all this going, most of the house in my area are for sale.
ToT @Doc Holiday
NB lost almost 1k people the first 3 months of this year, worst lost in one quarter in NB's history. Even beating all of last year. Province is just better off bankrupting now.
jiminnb Interestingly, last week, when it was announce the government was being sued by a group against fracking and the week before that when the government announced it was suing the accounting company that represented Acton in their 50 million scam. David Alward and his left hand man Ted F Lemming were all over the news media with talking points regarding these cases.
in this matter, they are back to the standard" no comments while before the courts."
One thing you can count on when Dave comes to consistency is his inconsistency.
It's like his comment on a national media interview a few weeks ago and I quote " One thing is clear, it's unclear...."
Paul Bourgoin Mr. Blaine Higgs, since your rise to power you have cut the provincial budget spending like wow! The retired provincial pensioners treat your pinching cut to be a retired life threatening amputation. To the hospital they go. Arriving at the hospital behind a tow truck because your road budget cuts left many crater size pot holes on our roads. Once inside the hospital, I was told that waiting time had quadrupled because of your budget cuts. I hope all this new electoral stimulus moneys helping elect conservative candidates making them appear generous from involuntary donations from pensioner pension cuts.
2Right4U @RoaterB cut it like what? yes, cut property taxes (revenue) to corporate land holdings while increasing corporate welfare.
bostonbob 750,000ish, poulation and $13B and rising debt. This is just the begining of belt tightening in NB.
Hawkeye7 I would love to see only provinces that get rid of DB public pensions be eligible for equalization. It is not fair that Sask bit the bullet and converted to DC pensions 30 years ago and now have zero liability - but of course we still have to pay into equalization to fund ridiculous retirement benefits of of "have-not" provinces. go figure.
TimeWillTell @Hawkeye7 They didn't make the changes retroactive.
ronniejoe What I would like to see is the new Shared Pension Plan for Crown Prosecutors, Judges and MLAs. Oh yeah right, they don't have one. No need to change now that things are beginning to look better.
AnNyMoUS @ronniejoe The MLA one is coming - rolls out in the fall after the election.
Doc Holiday The trouble is that the province is going broke. Bilingualism has been a wonderful opportunity for a small percentage who have enjoyed big fat paying government jobs. The rest of NB, and the economy as a whole, have not fared so well. The few just don't pay enough back in taxes to support their government wind fall. And the rest are sick of paying for it, and the lack of equal opportunity, and are leaving. You reap what you sow NB.
tyler @Doc Holiday You see, I don't speak french, therefore, french is the problem! Take a class and get over it!
TimeWillTell @Doc Holiday The problem is our governments have cut their revenues e.g. no highway tolls, reduced corporate tax rates, etc., if you cut your revenues you have a budget problem.
2Right4U @Doc Holiday It isn't bilingualism that is the problem - there has never been any real attempt to create a bilingual province.
After 50 years of bilingualism you would think that 95% of our high school students would be fluently bilingual - nobody is prepared to do what it takes to make NB bilingual (and duel is not bilingual).
the_cod Just "grandfather clause" these whiners (who are seeing no reduction in their base pension anyway) and let's move on. It's the workers that are left paying the higher rates from their cheques and who have to work to older age for full pension that are paying the way so all of the current pensioners don't get penalized; and most of the current workers knew there had to be some sort of a change. Hell, anybody who has had money invested towards retirement income since the year 2000 could tell you counting on investment returns are a gamble, even with the so-called low risk investments.
Dennis Atchison @the_cod ... sorry, but not accurate. Current workers do not pay "a higher rate" from their cheques. The dollars in the fund come from the 30 plus years of those workers who paid into them. The fact the Liberal government took a "contribution holiday" during the McKenna years definitely had some consequence for pension shortfalls some 10 years later, along with the 2009 banking mess.
the_cod @Dennis Atchison I can assure you that members of the PSSA contribute more per cheque and per year than they did last year, period. Very very accurate according to my pay stubs.
AnNyMoUS @Dennis Atchison Really? So paying 7.4% up the YMPE and 10.5% after the YMPE is not more than 5.8% up the the YMPE and 7.4% after?
Chronos I hope they win.
ESmith I find it hard to be overly sympathetic when the base pension is guaranteed and there is a target to pay at least a portion of the annual inflation rate - that's a much better deal than most employees in this province get. It's just not reasonable to ask everyone else in the province to keep paying hundreds of millions of dollars in extra payments so that these pensioners can continue to have full guaranteed indexing of their pensions.
Raymond Bungay @ESmith Now there you are right on. As i said in another post here, this year on my Federal pension I got $1.33 for cost of living and I know I would not miss it. But here is something the provincial retirees did not see happen to them, when I turned 65 2 years ago I lost $433.00 and change from my Federal Pension! Why? Because I started to get the old age pension. We 9my wife and I0 were getting the Supplement but because the wife is now getting her old age pension, we don't get the supplement anymore and the provincial workers think they have a raw deal, now thats funny.« less
Dennis Atchison The pension conversation is complicated. To get a sense of the details, in an accurate and informative way, this interview may be of interest to many:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Rm6qK4Gp7Y
BradNB If a private company had done this everyone would be screaming foul, but because some of these folks had to wait in line at the DMV they think the pensioners deserve it.
I am the first to admit civil servants had a much better compensation package that anyone in private sector gets, but to change someone's pension long after the opportunity to make new retirement plans is gone? Wrong, no matter how justified you feel in your entitled mind.
singleminded @BradNB
If the employer were a private company it would have gone under long ago. This is the central issue - the fact that the cost of unsustainable government employee benefits are being passed to the taxpayer in a one-sided scheme without any no checks and balances.
Inquiringmind These people spent an honest working life...alarm clocks, slippery roads, sacrifices and more importantly chose to go with the lower paying but secure government job as opposed to the lure of big money in privately owned companies. I have two brothers. One chose to work as an engineer with Department.Of Transportation, the other also a civil engineer, went off to British Columbia to work at a private but successful consulting company. Each Christmas gathering found brother two at a different company a newer fancier car, wonderful vacations, making his way up the corporate ladder and reaching and income level the rest of us could only envy. Risk and reward. Brother one has lived in the same bungalow all his life and lived moderately. His eye on a comfortable pension at the end of his working years. He could never afford those big trips but he could sleep knowing he and his family would be able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle during their older years. Taking this away from the NB'ers who made this place their home all their working life, who paid NB taxes and contributed to New Brunswick's well being is just WRONG! The people who thought this was a way to save political face must not sleep too well at night! I know I would not be able to knowing I wilfully stole from my neighbour in the name of the common good. I fully expect this will be the downfall of the current government and such a shame! What an awful way to treat your fellow man. In case you may be wondering, I am not one affected by the changes. It was all a matter of risk and reward...good people who expected a just reward after a long career. So terribly sad.
singleminded @Citizen of NB.
I don't doubt your story but the data shows the exact opposite has happened...
TimeWillTell @singleminded Irrelevant citation mostly about police and firefighters with no relevance to NB pension issue.
somecatchphrase @Avalard - Vastly overpaid public sector workers, including police and firefighters, are a huge problem all across Canada and the United States. These "heroes" are milking us dry.
HaditinNB Some of the people commenting here forget the fact that a lot of money was paid into these plans by the pensioners for their entire work careers. These plans are not free. Would you feel the same way if you paid into a plan your entire life? Would you accept an answer upon your retirement that the plan you paid into was not quite what you wanted or expected, say oh well the company can't afford it and call it a day? There was another group of people sitting across the table when these pension plans were negotiated and it is called the employer. Do you accept everything the government tells you as fact when it comes to money in your own pocket? I am also involved in a plan that is currently under review and answers to the simplest questions are still not being achieved. It is easier to feed the pensioners to the wolves as there seems to be so many people that think that because you are a civil servant you must not have earned your money like they have. Apparently those commenting on here in that regard are such hard workers, it is surprising they even have the time to read the news let alone comment. I will never understand this government's philosophy of taking every extra cent you have out of your pocket but still expect you to put it back into the economy.
TimeWillTell Bravo for them , if you retired with a pension you have the right to expect that it will be paid if company is not bankrupt, which a province cannot be as its loans are also guaranteed by the feds.
singleminded @Avalard
NB is technically bankrupt. So everything is on the table. Reality bites, eh?
Errol Willis @singleminded
Have you done the actuarial? Do you have a reference to an article stating NB is bankrupt?
As much as we think we are, a province cannot go bankrupt as it will fall back under the jurisdiction of the Government of Canada.
Dennis Atchison @singleminded ... hmmm ... no government is ever "bankrupt". During the McKenna years the employer/government took "contribution holidays", diverting the funds to other places (a shell game in a sense). the "Consolidated Fund (upwards of $8-billion)" covers performance shortfalls should this happen, as was the case after the banking mess of 2009. It does not come from people's taxes, as is often reported or stated in the media. Public sector pension funds the past three years are exceptional in their performance. By all accounts, we should be looking to public sector pensions, and the defined benefit approach, as successful.
singleminded @High Earner
Yes, technically bankrupt. And barrelling toward 'actually bankrupt':
TimeWillTell @Avalard NB has the over the years always had the highest ccredit rating in Atlantic Canada, the rating agencies know that the Province can balance its books any time it wants to do.
2Right4U @Avalard YES, all they have to do is stop giving out corporate welfare and restore the hundreds of millions of property tax cuts they gave corporations.
somecatchphrase What's needed is a "New Brunswick Private Sector Taxpayers Coalition" to counter the influence and demands of this special interest group known as the "New Brunswick Pension Coalition."
If these pensioners believed in unrealistic and grandiose promises made by the government(s) of the day, tough cookies. You were sold a bill of goods.
It's kind of like buying a car that turns out to be a lemon.
Times have changed. Welcome to the real world, retired public sector workers. Instead of suing the people of New Brunswick, consult with some private sector retirees for some Whiskas recipes.
BradNB @somecatchphrase So stealing from seniors is ok as long as they are a politically unpopular group? For your sake I hope people are more understanding when you are a senior. Changing someone's retirement income after they've already retired is unacceptable, it's victimizing. There is no longer any opportunity to change plans and save more for retirement when you're already a senior.
TimeWillTell @somecatchphrase take a look at GM and the real world.
LouisLouis i'm tired of listening to this bunch of complainers. especially Clifford kennedy. he was part of a group that was looking for gov't handouts to build an appliance recycling facility in caraquet, then they tried to scam a community in southern Ontario... not trustworthy.
screeched Good move. Time for the Alward government to step down. They have done nothing for the people of NB, especially economically. The 1% are running the show, and now they want to kick the elderly. Time to raise taxes for the rich and put tolls back on the highways, one at every exit! We need dollars, not excuses or cheapshot ways to manipulate people. Fracking might hold some promise, but frankly that is untested ground. Tolls work, and should be brought back.
2Right4U @screeched There is an election in a couple of months time. I just don't believe any of the "big three" have a balanced program that is any different from each others take from the people and give to the corporations.
BradNB To change someone's pension plan when they have already retired is deplorable. How can this not be considered stealing?
Dumb Maritimer @BradNB If you are party to an unsustainable plan that destroys the next generation before they are born, and then sneak out the door before the chickens come home to roost, are you entitled to continue pilfering your grandchildren because "you retired and should be protected"? As a civil servant you elected the governments and union reps that put all this in place, this is your fault. I wasn't even born when most of these stupid 1-sided pensions were negotiated, and I won't be paying the bills you've handed to me. Accept a reasonable compromise, or prepare for a very lonely, uncomfortable retirement when your grandchildren are educated on the debt slavery you sold them into, assuming of course you were unselfish enough to even have children.« less
BradNB @Dumb Maritimer Boy does your name suit you.
First of all I am 30, far from retired, and I work in the private sector.
If you think the pensioners were scheming to cash in on their grandchildren you have way too much conspiracy going on in your noggin. Governments offered these plans without thinking to the future, and they alone are the cause. Next you're going to tell me you're such a moral giant you would have investigated the potential outcomes, realized it was unsustainable and opted out if it were you right? Give me a break.
Just because "civil servants" are a politically unpopular group doesn't mean stealing from seniors is ok. There is no longer any opportunity for these people to change plans and save more for retirement. Making the changes retroactive is wrong. Period.« less
TimeWillTell @Dumb Maritimer The unstainablity is only theoretical due to a market blip, it is more about the ability to take on more debt to support our oligarchs.
TimeWillTell @Avalard You might notice that existing MLAs did not rreduce their own unfunded pension plan.
GreenerPastures What's interesting is that this sort of thing is just going to get worse as the "growthers'" plans of expansion everywhere and forever necessarily get replaced with something more realistic. I can just hear the cries of the think tank economists in the distance urging us to import more workers to address the needs of a labor market experiencing shortages (?). Deception on top of deception is how we are heading into the future.
Someone should be charged with running an illegal ponzi scheme because that's what it boils down to. Those always work well in the growth stage and come crashing down when the inputs don't match up with the outputs when contributors dry up. The only way to keep one going is to reinvent the rules (pay less out) part way and hope everyone accepts it. Bernard Madoff could explain it all to you. There's always a day of reckoning.
Dumb Maritimer @StrictlyFacts The people who should be charged with running the illegal ponzi scheme are all those 55 and over who elected the governments and union reps that created these awful one-sided pensions. The retirees need to compromise, they are already so much better off than the youth of today will ever be.
still46 @Dumb Maritimer I guess the courts will decide, won't they?
Jack Clark I’ve made more than my share of sacrifices via increased taxes and market hits to my pension plan, and I’m pretty darned disgusted with NB civil servants and their “me first, and the hell with everyone else” attitude. And I’m not alone in saying that sympathy is lacking for the vast majority of civil servants I’ve ever encountered, who do/did NOT feel they were there to serve the public, and possessed the poorest work ethic I’ve EVER encountered in my more than 42 years in the New Brunswick workforce.« less
Errol Willis @Jack Clark Fortunately, your "feelings" about civil service employees have no impact on the law. Suppose you were 21 and joined a company, signed a contract that guaranteed you a full pension with indexing upon retirement. So for the next 35 years or so, you did not put a lot of money away for retirement, because you had a contract. Then all of a sudden your retirement day comes up, and the employer says "sorry - we don't like that agreement we signed 35 years ago and it is now null and void". Forget that this is the government, pretend it's Molsons, or Pepsi, or any large company. Similarly, if you had a roof installed which was contractually guaranteed for 20 years and at year 19 it had to be redone. Would you be upset if the company did not honour their contractual commitment to you?
But then you say - "it's my taxes that pay their pension", right? True, but just like you have no option but to pay taxes, they have no option but to be part of the pension plan.
If you have indeed worked 42 years in NB, don't be so bitter about the past. Look forward and don't worry about things you have no control over.
BTW - full disclosure - I am not a government employee, so I have no horse in this race.
BradNB @Jack Clark So it's okay to take money from someone if you don't like them? If someone reached into your pocket would that be ok, just because they don't approve of some aspect of your life?
Anne Bérubé @NicoleBerube
Anne Bérubé @NicoleBerube How come it is o.k. to insult civil servants but not somebody who thinks they are lazy?
still46 @Jack Clark I guess the courts will decide, won't they?
BradNB @NicoleBerube I take it you got a "content disabled" message? Yeah, there are groups you are allowed to attack on here, and groups you are not allowed to attack, all thanks to the CBC moderator.
valleyboy1 Chances are that the pensions were enhanced when there were hypothetical surpluses in the past and now these enhancements are discovered to be too expensive.
The public service pensioners are really looking for the hard working tax paying citizens of NB ( the 700,000 who were not public servants) to pay 100% of the cost of these enhancements.
screeched @valleyboy1 "Chances are" does not provide solid thinking for a decision like robbing seniors. Chances are the repeated governmental tax cuts to the corporate world are also coming back to haunt us.
Dumb Maritimer @screeched "Chances are" is the logic that these greedy seniors used to get these fat 1-sided pensions in the first place. It's delicious that the same logic would be used to claw them back, don't you think?
still46 @valleyboy1 I guess the courts will decide, won't they
valleyboy1 @screeched At least you agree that the payments the coalition is looking for would have to come from taxpayers and not from the past or future contributors to the pension plan
Carnivore @Dumb Maritimer I guess your sobriquet says it all.
herringchoker "The Fredericton-based firm of Whitehead, Bird & Miles, of Fredericton will serve as the local counsel on the case."
Ignoring the redundancy in that sentence, I must say that its good to see Shawn Graham lawyers are still busy with government work. That said the pension coalition would be advised to make sure their lawyers are working strictly on a contingency basis. Graham lawyers charged the province $74K, but still lost his conflict-of-interest case.
TimeWillTell @herringchoker Always makes one wonder, doesn,t it?
Roy Kirk " . . . rigorous consideration of alternatives . . . proportionate to its objective . . . no other rational policy alternative available." =====
The 1st two should be satisfied as a matter of course for any public policy decision. That they seldom are goes a long way to explaining why NB is in such a mess.
The last one? There are always rational alternatives, but just because they are rational doesn't mean they're fair, equitable, or just.
legions It has become public knowledge that just because I may be contributing to a pension through my workplace wages none of this means I will actually have a pension to retire on. Apparently poor politics, poor pension design, poor management, poor planning and lots of wishful thinking are not enough in the end if it is reality that needs be overcome
still46 @legions I guess the courts will decide, won't they?
2Right4U
This should include everyone (retired or still working) who paid into the plan (defined benefit) as required under law.
The go forward, for those who are still working under the new plan should mean they have two (2) pension plans - the old one (defined benefit) that they were required to contribute to by law and the new one (shared risk) that they are required to contribute to under law.
The employees have no choice - they are required to contribute and have no say in how their retirement is managed.« less
....and the horse you rode in on.
@2Right4U
I believe that is the way it is. If you are still working and have 20 years in then your pension up until this year is based on the defined benefit formula. Now your pension until retirement will be based on shared risk. As a taxpayer in the private sector that sounds about right.
2Right4U @Habitant EXCEPT they changed the defined benefit which is why this law suit is going on.
David Raymond Amos@DavidRayAmos Replying to @DavidRayAmos@FloryGoncalves and 49 others Whatever Trade War Trump pursues with whomever is not gonna affect Kim Jong-un and North Korea in a negative fashion. In fact it may assist him in finally getting to trade with the rest of the so called "Free World" N'esy Pas?
North Korea says Pompeo made 'gangster-like' demands but he calls talks 'productive'
U.S. Secretary of State says Pyongyang officials commit to new discussions on denuclearization
The Associated Press· Posted: Jul 07, 2018 7:36 AM ET
561 Comments
Steven Read
Trump just can't stop making things up and his base can't stop believing him. This is bizarre
David Amos
@Steven Read Methinks folks blessed with common sense would not believe any of them but one thing is for certain whatever Trade War Trump pursues with whomever is not gonna affect Kim Jong-un and North Korea in a negative fashion. In fact it may assist him in finally getting to trade with the rest of the so called "Free World" N'esy Pas?
David Raymond Amos@DavidRayAmos Replying to @DavidRayAmos@FloryGoncalves and 49 others Scott Wilson "It is hard to find non-moderated words for what he is doing" My reply My reply Methinks that is the story of my life within the comment section of CBC's domain N'esy Pas?
David Raymond Amos@DavidRayAmos Replying to @DavidRayAmos@FloryGoncalves and 49 others Methinks Canadian folks should get over the fact that Trump was elected and start studying what he is doing as the Yankee President that affects us and the rest of the world N'esy Pas?
Why Trump's trade war makes sense — if you're Trump
If the U.S. escalates its trade war, the rest of the world, starting with Canada, will be collateral damage
Paul Haavardsrud· CBC News·
2633 Comments
Scott Wilson
Trump is playing one-dimensional checkers, here, and apparently doesn't even think the other side gets a turn! It is hard to find non-moderated words for what he is doing.
Content disabled.
David Amos
@Scott Wilson "It is hard to find non-moderated words for what he is doing"
Methinks that is the story of my life within the comment section of CBC's domain N'esy Pas?
David Amos
@David Amos Surprise Surprise Methinks the Honourable Forest Gump was correct "Stupid Is As Stupid Does" N'esy Pas?
John Oaktree
@David Amos
Yup he would Messy Paws...
Neil Austen
Do people know many times Trump has gone bankrupt in his personal business. This alone should have barred him running for office. Are people really so clueless?
David Amos
@Neil Austen Methinks Canadian folks should get over the fact that Trump was elected and start studying what he is doing as the Yankee President that affects us and the rest of the world N'esy Pas?
David Amos
@Neil Austen Methinks Canadian folks should get over the fact that Trump was elected and start studying what he is doing as the Yankee President that affects us and the rest of the world N'esy Pas?
Content disabled.
David Amos
@Neil Austen Methinks folks should be made aware that the second most "liked" comment thread which was yours as well just went "POOF" N'esy Pas?
"POOF" Neil Austen
Being polite about Trump is anti productive. Let's just call him for what he is - disgusting and dangerous. If you keep talking about Trump and reporting his atrocities as it were something normal, uneducated people are not going to understand the repugnant nature of what Trump is and what he is doing.
Jason Tremblay (JasonDiggy)
@Neil Austen
Trump is bringing on the economic and democratic demise of Western countries.
Well played, Putin. Well played.
David Amos
@Jason Tremblay (JasonDiggy) "Similarly, a president who sees China as a menace lurking around every corner wouldn't want the U.S. to rely on any foreign country for its economic or military needs. "
Methinks CBC is starting to understand what I have talking about N'esy Pas?
David Amos
@Jason Tremblay (JasonDiggy) Methinks in lieu of merely clicking "dislike" about my choice of words folks should Google the following and finally begin to check my work N'esy Pas?
Trump Cohen Morneau Amos NAFTA FATCA TPP
"POOF" Jack Black
@Neil Austen
Some of his business may have gone bankrupt in the past but i think hes doing ok. Hes worth over 3.5 billion.
He also donates his salary every paycheck. Trumps Presidential salary has gone to Veterans, opiod abuse, transportation min ect. Likely wont read about the good things Trump has done if you only read CBC or CNN.
David Amos
@Jack Black Methinks folks blessed with common sense would not believe any of them but one thing is for certain whatever Trade War Trump pursues with whomever is not gonna affect Kim Jong-un and North Korea in a negative fashion. In fact it may assist him in finally getting to trade with the rest of the so called "Free World" N'esy Pas?
Navarro is ludicrous. I live in China and I see American products everywhere. People look up to the US and want to send their kids there to study. Trump is nuts. How could the "former" leader of the free world elect such a stupid President who will cause SO MUCH DAMAGE to many, many countries, in addition to the US itself? ! The world will bypass the US as much as it can in order to save itself from as much damage as possible, but seriously, Americans are stupid to have elected this crazy man.
Content disabled. David Amos
@Brian Bailey I do agree with you however methinks I should point out that the only other choice Yankee folks were offered to elect as the leader of the free world was Hillary N'esy Pas?
Charles Hobart
It is in Canada’s, China’s and the EU’s strong collective interests to forge a new economic relationship that is independent of Washington. Canada must fight against the Trumpian worldview wherein ‘might makes right’ and rules are for only the weak.
David Amos
@Charles Hobart YUP
David Amos
@Josephine Marcus "Haven't seen that MeToo guy Justin in a while, is he taking another vacation in British Columbia this time?"
Nope Methinks Trudeau the Younger has changed costumes again and according to CBC he is having a pretty good time in Harper's old stomping grounds even after his old history in BC was considered N'esy Pas?
@Andreas Burnett "Trump is a "bad guy" because he isn't doing what the creditors want. "
Methinks you don't know "The Donald" I know N'esy Pas?
Dale Sullivan
Navarro and Ross are trying out an economic experiment. They don't care if it fails. And it will. Trump doesn't care either. They are willing to gamble. The everyday American is the one who will suffer.
David Amos
@Dale Sullivan I concur
Bryan Atkinson
Like any war, there are always casualties on both sides. Including a trade war. As US casualties mount, Trump will undoubtedly be hurt at the ballot box.
It's unfortunate, it's unnecessary and it's unprovoked. But this time Trump, himself, will be hurt by his miscalculated belligerence.
David Amos
@Bryan Atkinson Methinks we will know the true score on what the Yankees think of this malicious nonsense in November. In the "mean" time we should all hope Trump does not inspire a stock market crash or we all will suffer N'esy Pas?
Bryan Atkinson
@Artie Gibson
Like Trump, you're unclear on the concept of what trade is meant to accomplish. It's a zero sum game.
The negative balance of exports to imports is made up by the price benefit to American consumers from buying imported products. And since the US is basically at full employment, importing more than they export is not hurting their job market.
If Trump goes ahead with his tariffs on cars it's expected to add about $2000. to the price of a vehicle. You don't think that will hurt American consumers?
David Amos
@Bryan Atkinson Methinks you look at trade and tariffs far different that I as is yur right. It could be because I do not agree with the liberals or conservatives or free trade and NAFTA in particular. However it appears that Trump is using trade as some sort of weapon to the chagrin of most folks worldwide including the US citizens he purportedly serves and protects N'esy Pas?
Jackson Thomson
Donald Trump, next bankruptcy, America.
Little room to maneuver given deficits (1 trillion 2018) with a booming economy. Little room to maneuver given low rate by the Fed.
Andy Benoit
@Jackson Thomson and don’t forget about who will go down with them ! CANADA THAT IS ,!
David Amos
@Andy Benoit YUP
Maya Tikal
If it makes sense to Trump then it's obviously a bad idea. Worst. President. Ever.
David Amos
@Maya Tikal Methinks you should inform Trump's many fans ASAP because even CNN has admitted that some polls claim he is even more popular N'esy Pas?
Katy Rose
Shame on the conservatives that are cheering for this country to fail.
Dan Cooper
@James Fitzgibbon
Indeed! Incels and young conservatives are one in the same. Bitter and angry at society for their yuge loss in the genetic lottery.
Pierre Poilievre is their poster boy and a 'star' conservative LOL
They actually believe that if society regresses, it will push them to the top...
Sad
David Amos
@Dan Cooper Methinks folks blessed with common sense would not believe Pierre Poilievre or any of them but one thing is for certain whatever Trade War Trump pursues with whomever is not gonna affect Kim Jong-un and North Korea in a negative fashion. In fact it may assist him in finally getting to trade with the rest of the so called "Free World" N'esy Pas?
It will only be when the pocket books of ordinary people get hit, will Trump's popularity with Republicans start to diminish. (with everyone else there no chance he will gain popularity)
Based on how quickly things are ramping up, that should start happening very soon.
With crops in the fields that have no markets, with gas prices rising, when your next car is $$$$ more than it was last year, when WalMart starts raising all their prices, ... the list goes on.
As for this 'war' with China, the Americans still fail to realize they've already lost.
Brian Cohen
@Victor Cretu China can out last them easily
David Amos
@Brian Cohen YUP Methinks everybody knows that Trump's bluff is being called bigtime even by Trudeau "The Younger". Furthermore everybody knows the Golden Rule is "He with The Gold Makes The Rules" Nobody should deny that the Chinese and the Russians have been buying gold by the ton for years with the Yankee's petrodollars and Canada can produce its own gold N'esy Pas?
Erin Wilson
Poor Don Trump. He failed at business. He failed at being a billionaire. Now he's failing as a president & ruining America. Don Trump has made a mockery of America.
David Amos
@Erin Wilson Welcome to the circus
---------- Original message ---------- From: Premier of Ontario | Premier ministre de l’Ontario <Premier@ontario.ca> Date: Sat, 7 Jul 2018 18:55:28 +0000 Subject: Automatic reply: Attn Chuck Thompson I just called you back Why is it that CBC won't say anything about me or to me since 2004 even though you people obviously knew I existed on the ballots? To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Thank you for your email. Your thoughts, comments and input are greatly valued.
You can be assured that all emails and letters are carefully read, reviewed and taken into consideration.
There may be occasions when, given the issues you have raised and the need to address them effectively, we will forward a copy of your correspondence to the appropriate government official. Accordingly, a response may take several business days.
Thanks again for your email. ______
Merci pour votre courriel. Nous vous sommes très reconnaissants de nous avoir fait part de vos idées, commentaires et observations.
Nous tenons à vous assurer que nous lisons attentivement et prenons en considération tous les courriels et lettres que nous recevons.
Dans certains cas, nous transmettrons votre message au ministère responsable afin que les questions soulevées puissent être traitées de la manière la plus efficace possible. En conséquence, plusieurs jours ouvrables pourraient s’écouler avant que nous puissions vous répondre.
Fundy Royal campaign targets middle class with focus on jobs Fundy Royal voters have elected Conservatives all but 1 time in 28 elections over 101 years CBC News · Posted: Oct 17, 2015 6:00 AM AT
56 Comments
David Amos It appears that the CROWN Corp known as CBC has failed its MANDATE once again and acted in a very partisan fashion in ignoring my name on the ballot. Correct? The real question is will the CROWN even allow this comment to be posted?
Tall tale-telling politicos, take heed: You could soon find your claims put through the truth grinder by the folks at FactsCan, a newly launched website that aims to provide an independent, non-partisan fact-checking service during the upcoming federal election. ■FactsCan website
According to co-founder Dana Wagner, who also works as a researcher at Ryerson University in Toronto, the team behind the site wants to help voters "separate out the truth from spin, distortion, omission, error and lies."
"Our goal is to enable Canadians to critically engage in political-speak, and to encourage politicians to be honest and accurate with their words," she told CBC News via email.
Unlike many countries, she noted, Canada does not have a major fact-checking outlet — and FactsCan is hoping to change that before the next election.« less
RURAL GUY @David Amos was going to hold my nose and vote con until I seen your name right at the top of the ballot. I instantly checked yours without even looking any further. I've never seen such a poor choice for prime minister for our three main parties, ever. when harper polls as good as he is, kinda tells you something about the other two, yuk
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. In the fulfillment of this critical role, this Code of Conduct outlines the values and expected behaviours that guide CBC/Radio-Canada employees in all activities related to their professional duties. By committing to these values and adhering to the expected behaviours, CBC/Radio-Canada employees strengthen the ethical culture of the public sector and contribute to public confidence in the integrity of all public institutions.
1. Respect for Democracy
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1.1 Respecting the rule of law and carrying out their duties in accordance with legislation, policies and directives in a manner that is and appears to be non-partisan and impartial.
1.2 Loyally carrying out the mandate of CBC/Radio-Canada as set out in the Broadcasting Act, for which it is accountable to Parliament and Canadians.
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2. Respect for People
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2.1 Treating every person with respect and fairness.« less
David Amos @RURAL GUY Thank You for the vote of confidence Kind Sir
David Amos Clearly there are FIVE candidates not merely four.
CT @David Amos I'm sorry they ignored you,you have great points but you should really pick a demographic that is smarter.Here people vote for cons without ever using their brains.Sad really when all they represent are Irving ,the potash corp and their minions.They are owned by them and they don't even know it.
CBC writes lots about people who BS a lot then don't bother to put their name on a ballot. Yet I have done so FIVE times and they have never said a peep other than bar me from the airwaves and try to have their pals in the other CROWN Corp known as the RCMP arrest me. Page 14 of this old pdf file of mine is the reason why.
David Amos I must Say I am rather impressed at CBC's sudden fit of Integrity to allow my posts to stand the test of time for a few hours at least. (: Rest assured that I have been saving digital snapshots just in case they delete and block me as usual :)
In return here is an old scoop about CTV that CBC and everybody else and his dog has been ignoring for 11 very long years after I ran in the election of the 38th Parliament against the aptly named lawyer Rob Moore.
Mr. Amos, I confirm that I have received your documentation. There is no need to send us a hard copy. As you have said yourself, the documentation is very voluminous and after 3 days, we are still in the process of printing it. I have asked one of my lawyers to review it in my absence and report back to me upon my return in the office. We will then provide you with a reply.
Martine Turcotte Chief Legal Officer / Chef principal du service juridique BCE Inc. / Bell Canada 1000 de La Gauchetière ouest, bureau 3700 Montréal (Qc) H3B 4Y7
Executive Assistant / Assistante à la haute direction: Diane Valade Tel: (514) 870-4638 email: diane.valade@bell.ca« less
David Amos Anybody bother to notice I am the only person posting here with a real name and it is the same name that is on the ballot in Fundy Royal?
Do ya think the lawyer Rob Moore "The True Conservative" or any of the others would dare to debate me in writing with their true name within a website funded by the taxpayer and controlled by questionable public servants? How about outside the CROWN"s domain within the Yankee website called Twitter? That is where I play very serious Political Hard Ball. See for yourself or ask Rob Moore's hero Stevey Boy Harper if I am a liar or not.
tony forward I may be a little confused here, Is there not 5 candidates in this Riding.. Humm. Seems you forgot the Independent candidate, David Amos is running, heard him on the radio and has a u tube following, Funny how u tube has become become more accurate than the CBC. Shame on you, CBC. Lets just see if you will post this comment,,,
David Amos @tony forward For the record CBC is well aware that I am the fifth candidate. Hance Colburne of CBC moderated the debate in Hampton on Oct 7th one before CBC posted on their website on Oct 14th his interview with Rob Moore on CBC airwaves
David Amos BTW Rob Moore and I know the truth about Randy Quaid's questionable arrests in Canada and the USA. More importantly so does Randy I know that for a fact.
"I never worried about being found guilty or any of that for any of these charges because I know the truth, and I know the facts are going to come out at some point, and today was a good sign of that," Randy Quaid said
"Quaid and his wife Evi, a Canadian citizen, have been living in Montreal since February 2013."
"Robert Gervais, an official with the Immigration and Refugee Board, confirmed in an email to CBC News that a detention review hearing for Quaid is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
But the reason for the actor's arrest is unclear.
Quaid, 64, was detained Tuesday morning after attending a regular check-in with CBSA officials in downtown Montreal.
Quaid's lawyer, Mark Gruszczynski, declined to shed light on the affair or to reveal the reason for Quaid's arrest."
> > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Edith Cody-Rice <Edith.Cody-Rice@cbc.ca> > Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:53:07 -0500 > Subject: Calls and E-mails to CBC > To: david.raymond.amos@gmail.com > Cc: Rob Renaud <Rob.Renaud@cbc.ca> > > Dear Mr. Amos: > > CBC personnel have contacted me concerning your calls and e-mails to > them. As you are threatening legal action, would you kindly direct any > further calls or correspondence to me. Other CBC personnel will not > respond further to your correspondence or calls. > > > Edith Cody-Rice > Senior Legal Counsel > Premier Conseiller juridique > CBC/Radio-Canada > 181 Queen Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1K9 > Postal Address: P.O. Box 3220, Station C, Ottawa K1Y 1E4 > Tel: (613) 288-6164 > Cell: (613) 720-5185 > Fax/ Télécopieur (613) 288-6279 > > IMPORTANT NOTICE > This communication is subject to solicitor/client privilege and > contains confidential information intended only for the person(s) to > whom it is addressed. Any unauthorized disclosure, copying, other > distribution of this communication > or taking any action on its contents is strictly prohibited. If you > have received this message in error, please notify us immediately and > delete this message without reading, copying or forwarding it to > anyone. > > AVIS IMPORTANT > La présente communication est assujettie au privilège du secret > professionnel de l'avocat et renferme des renseignements confidentiels > intéressant uniquement leur destinataire. Il est interdit de > divulguer, de copier ou de distribuer cette communication par quelque > moyen que ce soit ou de donner suite à son contenu sans y être > autorisé. Si vous avez reçu ce message par erreur, veuillez nous en > avertir immédiatement et le supprimer en évitant de le lire, de le > copier ou de le transmettre à qui que ce soit. > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: martine.turcotte@bell.ca > To: motomaniac_02186@hotmail.com > Cc: bcecomms@bce.ca ; W-Five@ctv.ca > Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2004 10:28 AM > Subject: RE: I am curious > > Mr. Amos, > > I confirm that I have received your documentation. > > There is no need to send us a hard copy. As you have said yourself, > the documentation is very voluminous and after 3 days, we are still in > the process of printing it. > > I have asked one of my lawyers to review it in my absence and report > back to me upon my return in the office. We will then provide you with > a reply. > > > Martine Turcotte > Chief Legal Officer / Chef principal du service juridique > BCE Inc. / Bell Canada > 1000 de La Gauchetière ouest, bureau 3700 > Montréal (Qc) H3B 4Y7 > > Tel: (514) 870-4637 > Fax: (514) 870-4877 > email: martine.turcotte@bell.ca > > Executive Assistant / Assistante à la haute direction: Diane Valade > > Tel: (514) 870-4638 > > email: diane.valade@bell.ca > > -----Original Message----- > From: David Amos mailto:motomaniac_02186@hotmail.com > Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2004 6:12 AM > To: Turcotte, Martine (EX05453) > Cc: bcecomms@bce.ca; W-Five@ctv.ca > Subject: I am curious > > Madam > > I did not receive a response from you to the last email so I am not > certain if you received it. I must inform you that I will be closing > my briefcase in Yahoo for public view at the end of the week. I have a > great deal of material to add and I only wish certain parties to view > it. I opened it for you the other day as an act of good faith. Mr. > Pozen can check my work in the dockets of the various courts around > Boston they are a matter of Public Record my files are not. As you can > see by this and some following emails. I am very busy dealing with > criminal matters first before filing civil complaints in the USA. As I > told you when you called a lot has been happening. I have made a lot > of cops mad at me and I don't trust them a bit particularly after the > Police Commission is willing to check their work so i have been busy > watching my back and covering my butt. However that does not mean that > I have not thought about our conversation and was curious about a few > things. > > I was glad to receive your call and impressed by the fact that you > were more than willing to receive the material and a copy of the > wiretap tape in particular. Your stated willingness to uphold the law > was a rare statement to me. However I was curious why you only > mentioned my voicemail to Mr. Pozen and not the email to your company > and the news program that it owns. Did they not inform you as well? If > they didn't I am not surprised because I have some other rather > interesting denials from the Media. the most interesting would have to > be from the PBS program called Frontline when I introduced its > producer Michael Sullivan to the US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan. Now > that is a story well worth W5 telling. Too bad they showed me their > ass. As a courtesy to you and a further act of good faith, I will not > forward this email to anyone else until after I return to the USA and > nothing has been resolved between BCE and I and I am compelled to name > it in my complaint. I would find it very hard to believe that Mr, > Pozen does not know everything he needs to know about me right now. > > I had also called a lawyer, Steven Skurka who had a week long little > special on CTV . I had tried to inform him that I knew my rights his > assistant hollered at me. You from speaking to me yourself that I am > not a rude character. I found it too funny to be treated that way and > I had resolved to serve him this stuff byway of the local ATV Station > that had presented his smiling talking head to me. That is why I was > telling you that you could get this stuff from the local ATV station. > I found it quite strange that you did not rely on them to send it on > to you. Thus I must make an extra copy to comply with your request. > > I know the date stamp on the forwarded email is incorrect but that is > because my old laptop goes to the first year in it when I boot up and > sometimes I am too busy or tired to bother changing it. However MSN > tracks it with the true date. Brad Smith and I have a bone to pick as > well and I have been checking his work rather closely since he ignored > my letter to him last year. His boss Bill Gates is gonna be very angry > and Brad Smith and Steve Balmer in the near future if I have anything > to do with it. If you do act ethically and immediately I will settle > with your company very cheaply in comparsion to the bottom lines of my > first two complaints. In fact I will be so impressed I will > immediatlely offer you a better job than the one you have now. Please > study the material I will provide you closely and ask me any thing you > wish. > > I will do as I promised and send the material you requested as soon as > I can put it all together. Right now I am on the move and far away > from my printer. Is the following your correct address? Perhaps you > should consider sending someone to the my meeting with the Police > Commission in Fredericton next week in order to hear me speak of these > matters to law enforcement before I return to the USA. Once I do > return there I will serve the Mr. Pozen the material as promised and > call him to testify in my pending trial. The following emails should > explain some of my concerns to you. My wife will be in Canada next > week as well to pick up our kids. I will allow you to speak to her if > you wish. She has had a nervous breakdown over the legal crap and I do > have her Durable Power of Attorney pursuant to M.G.L. 201 B. Mr. Pozen > can ask Robert S. Creedon Jr. about that document. I argued it with > him before the entire Judicuary Commitee on Sept. 18th 2003. > > I will call you in a minute to make certain that you get this and the > following emails. > > David R. Amos > > Martine Turcotte > > 1000 de la Gauchetiere Ouest > Floor 41 > Montreal, Quebec H3B 58H Canada > Tel: (514) 870-4637 > Fax: (514) 870-4877 > > For the Record I gave the Irving "Rag called the Gleaner" in Fat Fred > City and the CBC dudes in Toronto copies of the following lawsuits in > the USA in 2002 long before I gave some material to Bellglobemedia > byway of their W-Five yo yos. Clearly nobody knows how to read if they > don't think I ain't sued folks before EH? > > Ask W-Five or their lawyers if I am a liar or not. Better yet ask > Stevey Boy Murphy or Andy Campbell in Fat Fred City if they dare to > chaleenge the truth. If all else fails and you bloggers seek counsel > you can trust why not ask Chucky Leblanc or your "Blogger General" > T.J. Burke he received the same documents on June 24th, 2004 the day > Danny boy Busierres and the Fat Fred City Finest attempted to banish > me from the LEG but it ain't worked out to well for them yet EH Chucky > Leblanc? However chucky was quick to report that I was banished the > following day and ain't said apeep about it since. Who to you think > told him not to talk about it? Kelly lamrock, T.J. Burke. the Irvings > or all three? > > FYI W-Five took an interest in my matters at about the same time > Chretien's underling was calling Bush a moron.(I oftern call myself an > oxymoron Methinks somebody has been studing my words EH?) I supported > Chretein's underling's thinking in two affidavits demanding judgements > by default filed in the following dockets on December 12th, 2002. > > The following day Cardinal Law (Methinks that is why chucky hates me > so) quit Beantown and ran off to the Holy See. Years later he helped > pick the latest Pope(a former Hitler Youth who is making his bones > with the croooked little Georgey Boy Bush Jr. right now in the USA.) > > Never Forget the Queen is the protector of the Faith of the Church of > England . She would not allow her family's assests to be stolen and > given to the catholic Church. Why should I act any different? > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: W-FIVE Viewer Mail > To: David Amos > Sent: Thursday, November 28, 2002 3:03 PM > Subject: RE: possble story > > > Dear Mr. Amos, > > I would like to thank you for your email to W-FIVE, sorry for the > delay in responding. > > We review every email and story idea that we receive here at W-FIVE > and give it serious consideration. Your email has been forwarded to > our executive and senior producer for review. If we are interested in > pursuing your idea further, you will be contacted by one of our > researchers. > > Thanks again for your input. Your interest in our program is much > appreciated. > > Sincerely, > > Lisa-Marie > > Production Coordinator > > W-FIVE > > -----Original Message----- > From: a friend of David Amos' email account > Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2002 2:28 PM > To: W-FIVE@ctv.ca > Subject: possble story > > > I am a Canadian Citizen who thus far, as a plaintiff, has two Lawsuits > in the US District Court of Massachucetts they are numbered 02-11686- > RGS and 02-11687-RGS. > > They were removed to that Court from the Norfolk Superior Court by the > US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan very improperly. However they shall > remain there because of my status as a Canandian Citizen. Judge Sterns > has not even held a Conference about the matters because he likely > does not want to hear the matter because I have presented all Members > of the Bar with their worst fear of a catch 22 problem. > > Accordinging to law he is late. I have complained of 47 defendants 34 > of whom are State Defendants( the Attorney General, The Commission of > Judicial Conduct Board of Bar Overseers etc) and 3 are Federal > Treasury Agents. Some of the defendants are over two months late in > their answer to the Summons. > > The smallest suit amounts to 188 million dollars in the form of > relief. There is a lot to these matters and too much to briefly > explain. But in a nutshell my wife's Aunt, who is buried beside Rose > Kennedy, left my wife some money. It was stolen by her relatives in > executing the estate. No news there. But the crooks are very well > connected politically and every part of the old crony network in > Boston covered for them. > > The crook and our cousin, Charles J. Kickham Jr of the Kickham Law > Office on Beacon St, has been past President of Bar Associations. He > has sat on the Board of Governors of Harvard Law School etc. I have > given much information to many members of the press who have simply > ignored some interesting facts. > > What should be somewhat newsworthy is how far a wild colonial boy has > come in prosecuting Pro Se the most profund Yankee carpetbaggers. My > next two lawsuits Under title 18 are wickedly righteous. I have left > one copy of much information in Saint John New Brunswick at a lawyer's > Office, Mosher and Chedore 33 Charlotte St if some one wishes to view > them. I can be reached at this Cell number 506 434- 1379 > > David R. Amos >
North Korea says Pompeo made 'gangster-like' demands but he calls talks 'productive'
U.S. Secretary of State says Pyongyang officials commit to new discussions on denuclearization
The Associated Press·
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo left Pyongyang's Sunan International Airport on Saturday after two days of meetings with Kim Yong-chol, a North Korean senior ruling party official and former intelligence chief. Pompeo described the meetings as 'productive' in the effort towards denuclearization, but North Korea called them 'regrettable.' (The Associated Press)
Why Trump's trade war makes sense — if you're Trump
If the U.S. escalates its trade war, the rest of the world, starting with Canada, will be collateral damage
Paul Haavardsrud· CBC News·
The U.S., which just fired the first shot in a trade war with China, is threatening up to $500 billion US in tariffs that would cover nearly all of the trade between the world's two largest economies. (Andy Wong/Associated Press)
If one word could sum up how many Canadians feel about the Trump-shaped piano dangling over the country's economy, it would likely be "disbelief."
Sure, we know all about America First, Rust Belt jobs and Canadian dairy subsidies, but certainly, even U.S. President Donald Trump knows how much trade has helped to make Americans rich, many Canadians say to themselves.
The country's prosperity is so undeniable that it's easy, reasonable even, for Canadians to brush off Trump's anti-trade jeremiads as equal parts bluster, negotiating tactics and base-galvanizing political rhetoric.
Even with trade barriers now going up between U.S. and China, it remains hard to imagine that Trump would blow up the global trading system given how much U.S. workers would suffer, right? Maybe not.
The influence of Peter Navarro, China hawk
The national security reasoning the Trump administration initially used to justify steel and aluminum tariffs was widely seen as a pretext that allowed the White House to bypass Congress and use executive power to regulate trade and charge unilaterally down the path of protectionism.
Even more troubling for Canada's economic fortunes, though, would be if that justification were sincere. In that light, Trump's reliance on Peter Navarro, an economist best known for his radical views on China, as one of his top trade advisers is an ominous sign.
As much as it strains credulity that Navarro's theories on the dangers of China's economic rise could play a role in reshaping the global economic order, that becomes more likely with every step down the slippery slope of trade protectionism.
Peter Navarro's radical views on China are no longer on the fringes of economic thought now that he has the ear of the U.S. president. (Andrew Harnik/Associated Press)
That's in part because Navarro is one of the few economic advisers who supports the protectionist trade policies Trump and his commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, are advocating, says Dan Ciuriak, a former deputy chief economist in Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and now the head of his own consulting firm.
"There's not a single trade economist who agrees that what they're saying even makes sense, apart from Peter Navarro," Ciuriak said.
A professor at the University of California, Irvine, the 68-year-old, Harvard-educated Navarro wasn't always fixated on China. Early in his career, he believed in free trade and ran for mayor of San Diego as a Democrat.
But once his gaze turned to China around a decade ago, he found his "muse," as the New Yorker magazine once dubbed Navarro himself in relation to Trump.
His three books on the subject paint a dark picture of a world in which the U.S. and China are hurtling toward a reckoning, and not just on trade.
In the trailer for the documentary version of Navarro's second book, Death by China, a talking head opines, "China is the only major nation in the world that is preparing to kill Americans."
Until recently, such anti-China sentiment only existed far beyond the periphery of policy discussions. In the U.S., trade policy has often taken a back seat to foreign policy. When viewed through Navarro's theories, moves such as saddling Canada and the European Union with auto tariffs, pulling out of NAFTA and the World Trade Organization, as Trump has threatened to do in the past, and opening up a trade war with China start to make sense.
Fortress America
Similarly, a president who sees China as a menace lurking around every corner wouldn't want the U.S. to rely on any foreign country for its economic or military needs.
While economists see steel and aluminum tariffs as a tax on U.S. consumers that makes everything from beer cans to F-150s more expensive, but when imports are seen as a national security threat, that cost appears necessary in order to allow the industrial capabilities thought to be critical to the country's defence to be repatriated.
"If you think in those terms, then Trump putting tariffs on production inputs makes sense, because you're forcing the supply chain to come back inside the U.S. borders," said Ciuriak. "What they're doing is breaking up the U.S. corporations' integration into global supply chains."
The blueprint for Trump's retreat into Fortress America is becoming more visible. Following through on his threats to hit China with $500 billion in tariffs would effectively erect a trade wall across the Pacific. Auto tariffs would do the same across the Atlantic while abandoning NAFTA would sever economic ties with the rest of North America.
U.S. trade protectionism is already hitting exporters, such as Harley Davidson, which is moving a factory offshore to avoid retaliatory EU tariffs on U.S. goods. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press)
If the Trump administration keeps traveling this road, overseas markets are likely to dry up, and U.S. exporters will be the ones to take the early hits, as the case of Harley Davidson moving some of its production offshore has already shown.
An attempt to reshape the U.S. economy would run the risk of undoing the benefits of trade. That could result in a lower standard of living for Americans and potentially for Canadians, as well, given the integrated nature of our economies.
"Maybe if you're willing to stick it out, it's doable over the very long term, but the medium term is miserable," said Jacqueline Best, a political economist at the University of Ottawa.
"The medium term is full of job losses and dislocation."
If Trump chooses to go full Navarro, he'll need to convince voters that the economic pain is worth it. The current strength of the U.S. economy could help him pull that off.
A domestic market of 325 million people also makes an isolationist economic policy a more viable option than it would be for smaller nations. Trade just isn't as important to the U.S. as it is to most other countries. Exports account for only 12 per cent of U.S. gross domestic product compared to 31 per cent for Canada, according to World Bank data. Imports, similarly, comprise 15 per cent of U.S. GDP versus 33 per cent for Canada.
If the U.S. escalates its trade war, other world leaders will need to decide if their mutual interests run deep enough to try and save the current global trading order. (Jesco Denzel/German Federal Government via AP)
The White House may well veer off its current course, but if it doesn't, Canada may need to work with other countries to blunt the damage. That strategy is already taking shape in the form of multilateral trade deals and a co-ordinated effort to hit vulnerable Republican congressional districts with retaliatory tariffs.
Congress, which has the constitutional right to regulate trade, could potentially reclaim the trade file from the White House if November's midterm elections spur a renewed appetite to muster the veto-proof majority that is required to overturn the tariffs or revoke Trump's executive power to impose them.
If that doesn't happen — and most analysts see the Congressional override option as unlikely — the international community will be left to reinvent a global trade order that's not anchored by the U.S.
Beyond economic considerations, an increase in U.S. protectionism also puts into sharper relief the so-called trade-peace theory, a time-tested idea that says countries that trade together don't go to war.
"One can hope the auto tariffs don't materialize, the steel tariffs are short term, that NAFTA gets back on its feet," said Best. "People have been hoping for the best for a long time, and it's pretty obvious now that was wishful thinking. If everyone is in a major recession or depression and we're fighting wars, is anyone winning?"
About the Author
Paul Haavardsrud
Paul Haavardsrud writes for CBC's western business desk in Calgary. He is also a producer on CBC Radio’s national business desk where he talks about business on Radio One in the afternoons. Prior to that he worked for newspapers. On Twitter, he’s @paulhaavardsrud.
Hypocrisy is at the crux of the Trudeau groping allegation
The prime minister and his defenders are asking for a type of consideration previously denied to others
Robyn Urback· CBC News·
369 Comments
David Amos
"This is about hypocrisy — not about what did or did not happen at a music festival 18 years ago."
EXACTLY
Methinks many people are in shock today to see CBC finally agree and publish what many people have been thinking since the story broke in the social media weeks ago N'esy Pas?
Richard Sharp
Urback must think she's died and gone to heaven what with CBC paying her to hate Trudeau in front of a captured audience.
David Amos
@Richard Sharp Methinks desperate liberal people post desperate comments N'esy Pas?
David Amos
YO @Richard Sharp Its been so long and still you don't call, you don't write Methinks its clear you don't love me.. Now it appears the cat still has not got your tongue in CBC as you love affair ends with them N'esy Pas?
Richard Sharp
What groping 18 years ago way before he entered public life? We don't know how totally innocent it might have been but Trudeau is man enough NOT to call her on it. She doesn't want to pursue anything and Trudeau is respecting that wish.
The corporate media, including and especially the CBC, have done a hatchet job on the prime minister of Canada.
Earl Sargent
@Richard Sharp Your opinion Richard. CBC has not covered everything in my opinion to protect Trudeau. It was far far worst then you make it out to be. So In this case I would accuse CBC of covering it up. The fact is he is a hypocrite. He does not stand by his own rules.
John Gran
@Richard Sharp Imagine if this was Harper before he entered public life. The Liberals would have had a collective hissy-fit.
Trudeau set the standard for his own MPs & now we're supposed to give the MP who happens to be the PM a pass.
Just keep throwing those stones......
Earl Sargent
@jason smith You nailed it Jason. Just look at the liberal reaction with Patrick. do as they say, not as they do.
Richard Sharp
@John Grant
No pass. Trudeau gave a full account, many times now. He's out there facing the music, no matter how contrived the attacks on his character.
Harper would NEVER have put himself in such a vulnerable position but Trudeau does it HUNDREDS OF TIMES compared to Harper's NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS,
Earl Sargent
@Richard Sharp This not a school yard Richard. It is a country. And there are not just a few eyes on Trudeau ,there is a country full of eyes on Trudeau. This Is not a silly game. And it certainly is not a " Do as I say ,not as I do" moment.
@Richard Sharp Doesn't appear your deflection BS is selling with the reading public, maybe switch to Harper made him do it.
David Amos
@Richard Sharp Methinks the jig was up on your hero Trudeau The Younger when as 3rd party leader he supported Harper and his evil Bills N'esy Pas?
Richard Sharp
Trudeau is holding back on the truth in respect for the woman's request for privacy and an end to this. He respectfully disagrees and both sides are done with it.
Except the wolves and pigs in the corporate media and among their owners.
David Amos
@Richard Sharp Oh My Methinks you are quite upset ovr the fact that your hero Trudeau The Younger got caught by his own rhetoric and even CBC is finally disgusted with his nonsense N'esy Pas?
Hypocrisy is at the crux of the Trudeau groping allegation
The prime minister and his defenders are asking for a type of consideration previously denied to others
Robyn Urback· CBC News·
In the past, Trudeau has said that the same standards would apply to him if an accusation of sexual misconduct is levied his way. It appears he changed his mind. (Julie Debeljak/CBC)
This is about hypocrisy — not about what did or did not happen at a music festival 18 years ago. It is about "believing women," until it happens to you; about taking all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously, except if they happen to pass some arbitrary expiration date. It is about employing an unwavering zero-tolerance policy, which, in practice, ends up showing some tolerance for the man at the top.
It is about having one set of standards for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and another set of standards to everyone else. That's the issue. Not what did or did not happen in Creston, B.C.
For the record, there is no dispute from the two parties in question that something happened at that music festival back when Trudeau was a 28-year-old schoolteacher, before he entered politics.
An editorial published at the time in the Creston Valley Advance accused Trudeau of "groping" a young reporter — an allegation the woman re-affirmed in a statement issued last week.
Trudeau initially and bizarrely claimed he did not recall any "negative interactions," then conceded that, yes, there was some sort of encounter, but he believes he did not act inappropriately. Nevertheless, Trudeau says he apologized at the time because he knows that "the same interactions can be experienced very differently from one person to the next."
The expectation now is that everyone just move on, in part, because the woman in question says she has put the ordeal behind her and just wants to move on. That much is understandable: This woman is now caught in an unwelcome political firestorm because of something that happened to her nearly 20 years ago. For that reason, many have insisted this incident be dropped altogether.
That would, however, create a terribly harmful precedent. Indeed, we should not ignore misconduct in cases where the target of an unwelcome advance wants her privacy. If nothing else, it would suggest that we cannot right a wrong unless a victim actively participates. But we should strive to be able to both protect women and to hold powerful men to account.
The National
Trudeau reacts to statement from reporter who alleged he groped her
00:0002:58
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked for his reaction to a statement released by the reporter who alleged he groped her 18 years ago at a charity event. 2:58
What's more, this is not a situation where an incident was dug up out of nowhere and put on the public record without the woman's permission. For better or worse, this encounter was already on the public record in the form of a published, public editorial. The suggestion that we put the genie back in the bottle now is moot.
Ironically, there is at least one recent occasion when a private allegation was put on the public record without the complainants' express permission: That is, in late 2014 when Trudeau went public with allegations against against MPs Scott Andrews and Massimo Pacetti, without telling the women involved — two NDP MPs — in advance. The women felt blindsided, according to the NDP whip at the time.
Trudeau is himself therefore guilty of publicizing a misconduct allegation without the complainants' permission, which makes the suggestion that we now drop the matter concerning the prime minister's conduct — conduct that was already put on the public record — rather rich. It's that conspicuous double-standard, rearing its head again.
Liberal MP Kent Hehr is now out of cabinet because of inappropriate words, though not physical contact. (CBC)
The crux here is that the Trudeau and his defenders are asking for a type of leniency and consideration not afforded to other politicians similarly accused of misconduct. MP Kent Hehr, for example, is now out of cabinet because of inappropriate words, though not physical contact. And MPs Andrews and Pacetti were suspended first, investigated later, when allegations against them first surfaced.
Pacetti, in fact, has used the same defence that Trudeau is now employing in response to allegations that he acted inappropriately. Pacetti, who was accused of having sex without explicit consent with a female MP, has always maintained that he believed the sexual encounter, in which she provided the condom, was entirely consensual. She says it was not. To borrow Trudeau's words: the same interaction was viewed very differently from one person to the next.
This is not a judgment on whether the Pacetti incident was indeed consensual, or to suggest that groping and non-consensual sex are in any way on a par, but simply an observation that the excuse used in both cases — I didn't think I was doing anything wrong — was unacceptable in Pacetti's case (he was permanently removed from caucus), but is now permissible in Trudeau's.
Applying universal standards
In the past, Trudeau has said that the same standards would apply to him if an accusation of sexual misconduct is levied his way. It appears he changed his mind.
Practically speaking, however, there is probably no point to launching a formal investigation of this allegation now. The most it would do is uncover a few additional details, for which Trudeau would then apologize, leaving us in the same place we are now. The prime minister will not suspend himself or — as been suggested by some fervent critics — resign.
If we really want to move forward, we don't need an investigation. We need an admission that these things are complicated. That "believe women" as a blanket approach to each and every accusation sounds good in theory, but can be problematic in practice. That we can take allegations extremely seriously without having to reflexively believe them. That punishing before investigating is wrong. That there are scales of wrongdoing, and that we can make room for people to learn from their mistakes, while simultaneously showing no tolerance for those who commit the worst ones.
The prime minister is now experiencing first-hand how a one-size-fits all approach to dealing with accusations of sexual misconduct is extremely fraught. But instead of conceding that admission, he is simply changing the standard to a one-size-fits-most: Everyone except the prime minister. That's the issue. It's the hypocrisy, not the act.
Robyn Urback is an opinion columnist with CBC News and a producer with the CBC's Opinion section. She previously worked as a columnist and editorial board member at the National Post. Follow her on Twitter at:
Trade war fallout: Why oil and the loonie are finally headed apart
Loonie is taking trade war fears on the chin
Pete Evans· CBC News· Posted: Jul 09, 2018 4:00 AM ET
343 Comments
Neil Gregory At the beginning of October 2015 whe Harper was still PM, the Canadian loony was worth about 77 cents American, and I don't remember hearing the right-wing, Conservative, posters here complain about it. In fact, there were doing just the opposite. They were telling us how good it was for Canada's international trade. Today the Canadian dollar is still worth about 77 cents American, and the right-wing. Conservative poster have changed their tune. They are now trying to tell us that the value of our dollar is bad for us and that it is all Trudeau's fault.
Paul Reed
@Neil Gregory Pointing a finger is always easy to do. The one big thing that many CONs seem to be missing, .... is a mirror.
David R. Amos
@Paul Reed Methinks both the left and right wing political pundits dicing within CBC should research something truly simple ASAP N'esy Pas?
Try Googling the following
Trump Cohen Morneau Amos NAFTA FATCA TPP
Then
David Amos Federal Court
David R. Amos
@Neil Gregory Methinks 10 dislikes means that some very nervous political people read my comment N'esy Pas?
Trade war fallout: Why oil and the loonie are finally headed apart
Loonie is taking trade war fears on the chin
Pete Evans· CBC News· Posted: Jul 09, 2018 4:00 AM ET
Higher oil prices normally mean a much stronger loonie. But that's not happening this time around. (Associated Press)
It's a relationship that Canadians had gotten used to.
For years, when the price of oil went up, so did the value of the Canadian dollar. That led to a soaring loonie when oil prices were flying high, but double-takes while travelling in the U.S. once the wind came out of oil's sails and the Canadian dollar was lower.
But a funny thing has happened of late, as the symbiotic relationship between the two has weakened. Or, as Bank of Montreal economist Doug Porter put it, "The Canadian dollar continues to diverge from its old dance partner."
West Texas Intermediate is currently trading near its highest level since 2014, at just under $75 US a barrel. The rationale for that is simple: The global economy is steadily expanding, and that tends to increase demand for the oil that powers global trade.
The last time oil was trading this high, the loonie was changing hands at around 83 cents US. But that isn't happening this time around, because the high energy prices that normally rocket-charge the Canadian dollar seem to have, well... run out of gas, leaving the loonie barely above 76 cents. The difference looks even starker when you convert oil into Canadian dollars. By that metric, a barrel of WTI is going for more than $90 Canadian right now.
The reasons why are a bit complex, but they boil down to a simple premise.
Instead of riding the coattails of a rising oil price, the loonie is finding itself dragged below the surface by concerns over the current trade dispute with the United States.
The drums of a trade war are beating more loudly every day, and there's even talk that the next front could be in the automotive sector, with a tariff on Canadian cars of as much as 25 per cent.
The loonie is taking those fears on the chin. "I think the most pertinent reason why [the Canadian dollar has] been behaving defensively has been the increased premium attached to trade," said Bipan Rai, CIBC's North American head of foreign exchange strategy. "And the risk if things get even more nefarious from here."
Porter notes that Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz sounded this warning in a speech last month, saying the Canadian dollar was "a little bit soft" as "a symptom of that sort of investment sentiment [and] sentiment around trade."
Oil prices are rising, but the loonie is headed lower. The performance gap between the two is at its widest level in years. (John Fraser/CBC)
But trade war fears aren't the only dark cloud on the loonie's horizon.
All things being equal, rate hikes from central banks cause a country's currency to increase in value since rising rates are a sign that country's economy is expanding solidly. The Bank of Canada is widely expected to do just that when it meets to announce its next rate decision on Wednesday. But what happens after that is less clear.
Trading in investments known as overnight index swaps shows investors think there's only about a 40 per cent chance of another rate hike this year, after the one expected Wednesday. Meanwhile, those same instruments show investors are expecting as many as four rate hikes this year from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
If the Bank of Canada is left in the Fed's dust on rates, that's likely to drag the Canadian dollar even lower. But it would do nothing to slow the gains in oil, so the unexpected gap between the two dance partners would widen further.
"Crude oil is a much more macro asset," Rai said. "It's driven by factors that exist beyond Canada's control."
It's not all bad news, of course. Policy-makers were eager to decouple the loonie from oil's pull for years, as the so-called Dutch Disease tends to make every other aspect of a country's economy weaker even as one commodity powers ahead.
A cheaper loonie, for example, is great news for exporters, because their products suddenly look much cheaper to foreign buyers. But it's a double-edged sword for most of them, because the foreign buyers they're most likely trying to sell more to are Americans — who have declared themselves enemy combatants in the current trade war.
Add it all up and it seems likely that Canadians will get less bang for their buck for a while — something they'll feel even more acutely every time they fill up their gas tank as crude prices are always in U.S. dollars..
Whatever benefits there are to be had from a weak loonie "aren't really as pertinent now," Rai said, "[because] if you're exporting to the U.S., you might be a little more nervous than usual."
Pete Evans is the senior business writer for CBCNews.ca. Prior to coming to the CBC, he had stints at Report on Business, the Financial Post, the Toronto Star, Canadian Business Magazine and elsewhere. Twitter: @p_evans Email: pete.evans@cbc.ca Secure PGP: https://secure.cbc.ca/public-key/Pete-Evans-pub.asc
Province's pension managers get big bonuses for below average results
Vestcor CEO’s 2017 bonus more than doubled his base six-figure salary
Robert Jones· CBC News· Posted: Jul 10, 2018 6:00 AM AT
8 Comments
Neil MacLean
I don't think performance is evaluated simply in terms of single year returns. What makes me nervous as a pensioner is the overwhelming dependance of all pension funds on the performance of market equities, when I see our whole financial system as unsound. In the old days pensions were primarily based on bonds which had reliable government backing and a reasonable return. But those days are gone for now. So I would tend to look at fund performance very much in terms of its risk profile, and if there is less risk, then I can be satisfied with less performance. Oh, another thing - I don't believe in paying managers bonuses. Studies long ago showed that money isn't an important motivator of good job performance beyond a basically reasonable salary - but bonuses can certainly motivate gaming the job to the detriment of real client interests. It is quite shocking to me the extent to which this reality is utterly ignored in the world of corporate compensation design. It speaks I feel to a degree of self-interested corruption that is all too common in the corporate world.
David R. Amos
@Neil MacLean "It speaks I feel to a degree of self-interested corruption that is all too common in the corporate world."
Methinks its just the tip of a very malevolent iceberg but at least the questionable bonuses like the tip of the iceberg let us know where the problem is N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Neil MacLean "What makes me nervous as a pensioner is the overwhelming dependance of all pension funds on the performance of market equities, when I see our whole financial system as unsound."
Me Too
David R. Amos
@Neil MacLean "In the old days pensions were primarily based on bonds which had reliable government backing and a reasonable return. But those days are gone for now"
YUP
Try Googling the following and give me a call sometime if you wish
Trump Cohen Morneau Amos NAFTA FATCA TPP
David R. Amos
Franky Boy McKenna and his pals such as Robert Jones and John Sinclair don't call don't write since 2004 Methinks they don't love me N'esy Pas?
Google the following to see why
Harper and Bankers
David R. Amos
Trust that John Sinclair and Frank Mckenna and all their cohorts have known that I am a whistleblower about financial crimes since 2001 who sued 3 US Treasury Agents and host of lawyers etc in the USA in 2002.
Methinks anyone who is reading this can simply Google my name or if they wish to read my latest lawsuit that was filed and argued in Fredericton NB by Googling the following
David Amos Federal Court
Timothy Franklin
Bonuses have no place in a government environment. Mr. Jones should also investigate the agencies and crown corporations that bypass wage restrictions by changing job titles which in turn bump salaries for top management. Front-line employees’ wages have not kept up with inflation while those in positions that are politically connected have seen their salary double in the last 10-15 years.
David R. Amos
@Timothy Franklin "Bonuses have no place in a government environment"
Of course not However
Methinks far too many folks think the lawyer Franky Boy Mckenna can do no wrong even to this very day N'esy Pas?
Province's pension managers get big bonuses for below average results
Vestcor CEO’s 2017 bonus more than doubled his base six-figure salary
Robert Jones· CBC News· Posted: Jul 10, 2018 6:00 AM AT
Senior executives with Vestcor have produced below average results but continue to receive big-time bonuses. (iStock)
Senior executives with Vestcor, the firm in charge of investing New Brunswick government pension funds, all earned double-digit pay bumps in 2017 even as the funds they manage posted gains in the bottom half of national rankings for the year.
Vestcor oversees more than $16 billion in New Brunswick public service retirement and other funds and, according to its latest annual report, earned an 8.05 per cent return on investments in 2017.
Those were the best results for Vestcor in four years but well below the median national return of 9.7 per cent posted by all Canadian defined benefit pension funds in 2017, according to the Royal Bank of Canada.
Every one per cent change in investment returns in Vestcor's holdings is worth more than $160 million, meaning its investment returns in 2017 were about $260 million below the national median level.
Vestcor CEO John Sinclair said rules around investing New Brunswick pension funds have become stricter since the province switched over to shared risk pension plans, limiting both gains in good years and losses in bad years that the funds are likely to experience
Vestcor CEO John Sinclair, pictured in the 2010 file photo, was paid $327,779 in salary in 2017 plus $826,004 in bonuses. (CBC News)
"When equity (stock) markets rise as in 2017, these (pension) plans may produce returns that are slightly lower than less risk constrained pension funds in other jurisdictions," said Sinclair in an email to CBC New about why NB pension fund gains in 2017 trailed national results.
"Conversely, lower risk portfolios would be more likely to outperform industry medians during weaker market periods."
Big-time bonuses
But while Vestcor's investment funds were rising eight per cent in 2017, pay for Vestcor executives jumped more aggressively
Records show Sinclair earned $1.16 million in 2017, 16.7 per cent more than the year before. That was the result of a $165,000 increase in his incentive pay generated by the organization's growing, and at times controversial, bonus program.
The CBC's Robert Jones examined Vestcor's high salaries in April.
Information Morning - Fredericton
Robert Jones looks a Vestcor's high salaries
00:0009:50
The CBC's Robert Jones looks at Vestcor Investment Management Corporation and their high salaries. The company manages more than fifteen-billion dollars in retirement funds for NB government employees and others. 9:50
Four other senior executives had their pay jump between 13 and 30 per cent. Still it's not an obvious point of contention with retirees.
Deb McCormack is a retired government employee and a member of a coalition fighting the province over its conversion of pension plans to a shared risk model.
She said she does not mind Vestcor investing in lower return investments if they are safer from a downturn in the economy or increasing pay for the firm's executives if they are worth it.
"The bonuses, are they fair? It's really hard for me to say," said McCormack.
"It's important we have the best possible people looking after our money."
Incentive pay
Vestcor employees are eligible for a complex assortment of bonuses based partly on professional achievement, partly on one-year investment results and partly on four-year rolling investment results.
Largely because 2017 investment gains achieved by managers were better than the 2013 results they replaced in the rolling four-year bonus calculations, pay went up.
Vestcor — and its predecessor, the New Brunswick Investment Management Corporation — has offered incentive pay to employees to reward exceptional performance since 1998, but amounts have grown significantly over the past decade.
In 2007, total employee bonuses surpassed $1 million for the first time. The bonus pool then doubled to more $2 million in 2013 and doubled again to more than $4 million in 2017.
Official Vestcor targets list bonus payment ranges for employees to be between 30 per cent and 130 per cent of their base salary. However, senior managers all earn more than that, including Sinclair whose 2017 bonus pay is listed as $826,004.
That was 252 per cent of his base salary of $327,779
Trudeau in Latvia commits to extra troops, extended stay in NATO mission
Canada leads one of three NATO multinational battle groups in the Baltic States
Murray Brewster· CBC News·
Latvia's Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis and Trudeau hold a joint news conference in Riga on Tuesday. (Ints Kalnins/Reuters)
Canada will commit extra troops and remain in Latvia as part of NATO's mission to deter potential Russian aggression until 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed Tuesday.
The announcement was made following a bilateral meeting in the capital Riga with Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis. CBC News first reported the extended contribution on Monday.
Canada leads one of three NATO multinational battle groups in the Baltic States, a $145-million-a-year commitment that was slated to expire next March.
Trudeau announced not only that Canada was extending its stay for four years but also that it would add another 85 troops, bringing the total army contingent to 540 soldiers.
PM Justin Trudeau announces a 4 year extension of Canada's military mission to Latvia, as well as an increase in troops that will serve there. 1:38
Deployments could last a decade
Prior to the bilateral meeting, the two prime ministers laid wreaths at the Freedom Monument in Riga, which commemorates the lives lost during the country's war of independence.
Trudeau also reaffirmed Canada would continue to supply fighter jet and frigate deployment as part of other ongoing NATO operations.
The Canadian contingent in Latvia includes soldiers from Albania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Italy, and Spain.
NATO military planners anticipate that the deployment of battle groups in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania could last a decade.
Preparations for the extension have been underway for months. Canada has been quietly securing acknowledgements from its partner nations that they are prepared to stick around, said a defence source.
Trudeau will address Canadian troops and soldiers from those other nations during his visit.
205 Comments
Ronald Canell
I am looking forward to seeing the Prime minister fighting in the front lines. I want to see the Prime Minister holding a rifle and shooting at the enemy.
Mark Gregory
@Ronald Canell As all PMs do. Much like your favourite Trump who fought with a gun in hand in Vietnam right!
Garry Watson
@Mark Gregory
Are y’all aware that Trump is an American??
Richard Nichols
@Ronald Canell
CBC, pseudonym alert.
David R. Amos
@Ronald Canell Methinks Mr Prime Minister Trudeau the Younger and all his questionable NATO buddies should review my emails and blogs and tweets ASAP N'esy Pas?
Content disabled. David R. Amos
@Richard Nichols "CBC, pseudonym alert.
Methinks your all points bulletin kinda sorta worked. This thread went from the top most liked to deep in the dungeon of disliked comments in about 6 hours or so N'esy Pas?
'No plans to double our defence budget,' Trudeau says
Canada spends 1.23% of GDP on military spending, according to new NATO figures
Murray Brewster· CBC News· Posted: Jul 10, 2018 4:12 AM ET
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gestures while inspecting NATO troops as he visits Adazi military base in Kadaga, Latvia, on Tuesday. (Roman Koksarov/Associated Press)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set himself on a political collision course with U.S. President Donald Trump Tuesday by laying out unequivocally that Canada will not meet NATO's benchmark for defence spending.
"There are no plans to double our defence budget," Trudeau told reporters at the end of a bilateral visit to Latvia, where he announced Canadian troops would remain until 2023.
NATO asks its members to set aside the equivalent of two per cent of their gross domestic product for military spending.
New figures released Tuesday by the military alliance show Canada only hits 1.23 per cent of GDP. Demanding allies meet the two per cent metric has been an often-repeated mantra for Trump ahead of this week's leaders summit in Brussels.
In a whirlwind tour of the NATO base at Adazi, where he met with troops from eight countries, Trudeau used the composition of the multinational battle group, which Canada leads, as an illustration that membership in NATO is more than just dollars and cents.
"What we are demonstrating here with this battle group is that NATO is not just a relic of the past, but as an essential element as we build a future based on our shared values," he told soldiers assembled at an outdoor ball hockey rink.
Politics News
Trudeau extends Latvia military mission
00:0001:38
PM Justin Trudeau announces a 4 year extension of Canada's military mission to Latvia, as well as an increase in troops that will serve there. 1:38
"We are training together, learning together and developing a level of interoperability that goes beyond military tactics and abilities. It goes to how we understand each other, how we learn from each other and how we grow together. That as a demonstration of our shared values and convictions as an alliance is as strong as any other indication we can show with the amount of tanks or the amount of firepower."
Trump says they'll 'work something out'
The two benchmark was originally set at the 2002 Prague Summit, but leaders of the western alliance signed a pledge in 2014 saying they would work towards that goal by 2024.
Trump, in a series of speeches recently, has vowed to force allies to pay up, although he sounded somewhat conciliatory on departing Washington on Tuesday.
"NATO has not treated us fairly, but I think we'll work something out," he told reporters.
"We pay far too much and they pay far too little. But we will work it out and all countries will be happy."
Trudeau shakes hands with Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis following a bilateral meeting in Riga on Tuesday. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
The fact Canada has no intention of raising defence spending to two per cent was laid out in the Liberal government's defence policy last year. It forecast hitting 1.4 percent of GDP by 2024.
Several times on Tuesday, Trudeau outlined the spending his government plans, including the expected purchase of 88 new fighters for the air force and 15 frigates for the navy.
He described the NATO target as "easy shorthand" and a "limited tool" and said Canada is always focused on having the capacity to respond when called upon.
The argument is not dissimilar to one the former Conservative government made when it faced pressure to ramp up defence spending prior to 2015.
Trudeau received some political backing from Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis, whose country meets the benchmark and has openly said it is prepared to spend more.
He said the percentage doesn't matter and it's all about capability.
Kucinskis seemed happy to have Canada's commitment to continue to lead one of the three NATO battle groups in the Baltics.
"Today all of us are a little bit Canadian," he told troops at Adazi. "And we see and we feel that all of the Canadians have become a little bit Latvian."
In addition to announcing the extension, Trudeau revealed that the army will deploy an extra 85 soldiers, many of them logisticians and engineers to help run the battle group.
The additional commitment will play well at NATO, which is in the process of organizing a division headquarters to co-ordinate the operations in the Baltics.
Gen. Jonathan Vance, Canada's top military commander, said the additional troops and the extension are welcome.
3942 Comments (Was 3984) Commenting is now closed for this story.
David R. Amos
I wonder if Putin Trump or Trudeau will read my Tweet about this article
Content disabled. David R. Amos
Heres hoping Trump gets laughed out Dodge, NATO is dissolved and Putin cancels the meeting because he would rather go fishing than make a deal with a clown. Yea I know I'm dreaming but its 4 in the morning and I'm back to bed. Methinks that sometimes dreams come true N'esy Pas?
Nighty Night
Content disabled.
David R. Amos
@David R. Amos Shame on CBC forever for blocking that comment
Gina Davis
NATO is past its due date. The cold war is long over except for the new one attempting to gain steam. Russiaphobia, Iranphobia, Northkoreaphobia. There is no threat big enough to justify this massive war machine anymore.
So good on him, he should be cutting them off and leaving. We have better things to spend our tax dollars on.
David R. Amos
@Gina Davis "NATO is past its due date." I agree
So good on him, he should be cutting them off and leaving
Nope He win no cigar from me because he committed our troops for a longer deployment
Eric Houghton
@David R. Amos Just cut an run and drop the alliance right? Haha then if we ever end up in trouble what happens? Why should "allies" answer our call if we don't answer theirs?
Gina Davis
@David R. Amos Cant disagree with you, he also sent a 1000 to waive swords at Russia on their border. He did that 2 years ago.
His own campaign promise was better relations with Russia. I didn't know being aggressive was part of that.
David R. Amos
@Eric Houghton Why should "allies" answer our call if we don't answer theirs?
How long did the Yankees stay out of WW I and WWII How many times have we helped them for no reason I will ever understand?
Methinks our troops are for defense not attack keep them home to defend our borders not to piss off Russians for the Yankees benefit.
David R. Amos
@Gina Davis Perhaps you should Google the following
David Amos Federal Court
Then scroll down to the statement numbered 83 if you really want to embarrass The Powers That Be ASAP
Tim Trites
@Gina Davis
perhaps not going to war is proof of NATO's success. after all that is its point, as a deterrent
David R. Amos
@Tim Trites How is being at War in Iraq and Afghanistan, Syria and Libya etc any sort of deterrent?
Otto Vanderberg
@David R. Amos
Can you summarize it?
Doug Henderson
No plans because he has no clue
Julian Hoyak
@Doug Henderson - As much clue as Con posters. besides it's not his call. Canada's gov't has experts that do have a clue and that's who makes the recommendations to the gov't.
Doug Henderson
@Julian Hoyak AND THEY HAVE NO CLUE
David R. Amos
@Doug Henderson YUP
Don King
I think I speak for many Canadians when I say I don’t particularly care about Latvia and I’d rather my tax dollars were spent elsewhere.
Richard Sharp
@Don King
I agree. Why are we allowing the USA and NATO to lead our foreign policy and fighting their multiple disastrous wars, e.g., Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria. And their belligerent encroachment on Russia’s borders despite promising Gorbachev that would NOT happen when he freed the former Soviet republics. Freeland is a Russia hater who should be left to trade deals.
Spencer McDougall
@Richard Sharp 10/07/2018....I agree with Richard Sharp. OMG.
David R. Amos
@Don King " I think I speak for many Canadians when I say I don’t particularly care about Latvia"
Methinks folks in Latvia were tired of Trudeau the Youngerbefore he got there and the other Yankee allies should be tired of Trump after all the people I called, emailed and tweeted today about NATO etc N'esy Pas?
What's that ridiculous "N'esy Pas" nonsense of yours?
David R. Amos
@Spencer McDougall Me Too
Methinks even Trudeau The Younger would have to admit that amazing things never cease N'esy Pas?
Content disabled.
David R. Amos
@Lou Parks Methinks you are rather redundant with that question N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Lou Parks "What's that ridiculous "N'esy Pas" nonsense of yours?"
Methinks its strange that every time I reply and explain it to you I am blocked. So lets just say many Acadian folks who don't vote for them get my joke on the liberals N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Lou Parks What's that ridiculous "N'esy Pas" nonsense of yours?
Methinks that even you and your buddy Oaktree have lost track of how many times you asked me the same question not just today but for many months Not once have you dared to dispute what I posted N'esy Pas?
So in return I will be redundant as well
David R. Amos
@Lou Parks @Don King " I think I speak for many Canadians when I say I don’t particularly care about Latvia"
Methinks folks in Latvia were tired of Trudeau the Younger before he got there and the other Yankee allies should be tired of Trump after all the people I called, emailed and tweeted today about NATO etc N'esy Pas?
while he commits no troops to protect our own borders
David R. Amos
@Carl Juneau "If you're referring to "illegal immigrants", refugees aren't illegal, and the CBSA and RCMP are handling it"
I agree
"Are you afraid of an American invasion?"
Methinks we should because Trump was talking about the War of 1812 and Canadain burning down the White House etc As far as I know that War was never resolved just like the Korean conflict wasn't because the oh so great Yankees hate to lose N'esy Pas?
Eric Biallas
Committing more troops is great. Yet, looking at our own border situation, having troops sharing supplies and knowing that our PM puts his popularity above all else. Makes this another photo op and selfie expedition.
David R. Amos
@Eric Biallas "Committing more troops is great."
NOPE
David R. Amos
@John Smith "Lets get this straight . JT wants to prevent the illegal border crossing of Russians over the Latvian border"
YUP
John Towler
Trudeau wants to play the world stage and photops at the expense of our out of control debt. Somehow he knows where the largest pig troughs are. Canada's trough is running dry
Jim McAlpine
@John Towler - so you don't believe Canada has a role to play in supporting NATO? Explain why (other than suggesting it's just a photo op for Trudeau) and maybe we'd have something to comment on.
David R. Amos
@Jim McAlpine "so you don't believe Canada has a role to play in supporting NATO? "
Methinks Russia has been no threat whatsoever for nearly 30 years so why do we need NATO to use an excuse assist Yankee in their evil wars particularly when we also send troops to do the UN bidding and Trump has no respect for that organization at all N'esy Pas?
Earl Sargent
I see he's waving again to somebody. Nice hands. Maybe he should stay and help the troops.
David R. Amos
@Earl Sargent "Nice hands. Maybe he should stay and help the troops."
Methinks if a blind man were to shake Trudeau the Younger's hand he would be quick to inform you it ain't working man's hand N'esy Pas?
Comment thread was deleted before I could save what he posted
Phillip Potter
David R. Amos
@Phillip Potter YUP Methinks thats the guy that all Harperites love to hate N'esy Pas?
Steve Sax
No worries about Trudeau he has 12 months left. At this time next year he will be promising ever special interest group millions of dollars again.
The question is, will these people fall for it again
David R. Amos
@Steve Sax "The question is, will these people fall for it again"
Methinks many folks see no choice between Mr Dressup and Harper 2.0 or the mindless NDP. Hence it should prove to be quite circus N'esy Pas?
Jim Dandee
Trudeau was elected on a spend, spend, spend platform and now he has a trade war on his roaming hands. There are no more funds available.
David R. Amos
@Jim Dandee Methinks it wasn't so much that Trudeau The Younger won it was more like Harper and Mulcair lost bigtime so Trudeau got the PMO by default. I call him our accidental PM but liberals can't stand my joke just like Trudeau The Elder's minions hate my next two words N'esy Pas?
Pierre Filion
The BIGGEST CON MAN Canada as ever elected . Trudeau
David R. Amos
@Pierre Filion Methinks many would agree that Mulroney should have that honour You can't deny what became of the PC Party once he was done N'esy Pas?
Ronald Canell
I am looking forward to seeing the Prime minister fighting in the front lines. I want to see the Prime Minister holding a rifle and shooting at the enemy.
Richard Nichols
@Ronald Canell
CBC, pseudonym alert.
David R. Amos
@Ronald Canell Methinks Mr Prime Minister Trudeau the Younger and all his questionable NATO buddies should review my emails and blogs and tweets ASAP N'esy Pas?
Content disabled.
David R. Amos
@Richard Nichols "CBC, pseudonym alert.
Methinks your all points bulletin kinda sorta worked. This thread went from the top most liked to deep in the dungeon of disliked comments in about 6 hours or so N'esy Pas?
Surevey Says as of right now
Canell 23 likes 38 dislikes
You 10 likes 4 dislikes
Me 0 likes 13 dislikes
Fred Rickert
@Ronald Canell
For a preliminary tryout why don't you challenge him to a boxing match?
David R. Amos
@Fred Rickert Methinks folks would have far more fun watching me debate him like I did with the lawyer Rob More several times N'esy Pas?
Trump's 'déjà vu' Eurotrip: Upcoming Putin, NATO summits raise concerns after G7 debacle
U.S. allies on edge amid relationship that is already strained
Matt Kwong· CBC News·
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, shown during their meeting at the G20 Summit in Hamburg in July 2017, are set to meet in Helsinki next week, after Trump attends a NATO leaders' meeting. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press)
There's an old Russian saying that U.S. President Donald Trump might heed as he departs Tuesday for a week of high-level meetings in Europe, including one with a foreign foe. It goes: "Repetition is the mother of learning."
Those words may help him navigate a familiar scenario — a potentially strained meeting with allies just ahead of a tête-à-tête with a major U.S. adversary.
"Déjà vu is one way of thinking about it," said Alina Polyakova, an expert on Russian foreign policy at the D.C.-based Brookings Institution.
It was only last month that Trump travelled abroad to meet, then insult one of his country's closest allies, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, before he departed to laud a Western adversary, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
NATO members "are trying to understand what this president might do, and watching how he's interacted with other authoritarians — Kim being the most prominent recent example," Polyakova said. "They're trying to take lessons from that."
But if it's solidarity the alliance of 29 North American and European powers is after, Trump seems comfortable playing the role of disrupter, lashing out at members over military spending while treating Russian President Vladimir Putin amicably.
'Europe is almost powerless'
Trump will enter the talks in Brussels amid an already strained relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Last week, the White House sent missives to several NATO leaders, including Trudeau, admonishing the U.S. allies for their defence spending shortfalls, though the spending guidelines are not formal rules, only targets.
This photo of G7 leaders and advisers at the G7 summit was posted to the Instagram account of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, centre, on June 9. (Jesco Denzel/German Federal Government via AP)
Making things more awkward will be the steep tariffs the U.S. is imposing on imported steel and aluminum from the EU, Canada and Mexico.
In June, Trump departed the G7 in Quebec, then rejected a joint communiqué, in order to meet with Kim in Singapore. Now, NATO members are reportedly concerned about whether the president will renege on U.S. commitments to the alliance before his one-on-one with Putin.
The Europeans won't like the sequencing, Polyakova said, especially if a routine diplomatic affair goes off the rails, as the G7 did, leading right into a "glowing meeting of Trump and Putin."
"It's like Europe is almost powerless as they have to sit by and watch as their fates are decided by two men," she said, the implication being that Russia is back at the table with superpower status. Putin would likely request a lifting of sanctions, she said.
'Putin's wish list'
Trump reportedly hinted at the G7 that Crimea in Ukraine should belong to Russia, reasoning that most citizens there speak Russian. But legitimization of Russian annexation of Crimea would be a huge win for Putin, possibly incentivizing other land grabs, said Brian Klaas, author of The Despot's Apprentice: Donald Trump's Attack on Democracy.
"It's not just about Ukrainian territory, it's about a bedrock principle that has created international security and prosperity since World War Two, and that's the principle that you can't divide by force."
The Western world is held together by NATO and the European Union, and Trump is attacking them.- Brian Klaas , author of The Despot's Apprentice: Donald Trump's Attack on Democracy
Alliance members worry that the U.S. would withdraw its forward presence in Baltic states such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, leaving them vulnerable to a possible Russian military offensive.
If Trump was distracted during the G7 by his summit with Kim, his planned sit-down with Putin threatens to overshadow NATO discussions set to begin on Wednesday, said Klaas, a comparative-politics fellow at the London School of Economics.
"The Western world is held together by NATO and the European Union, and Trump is attacking them at the same time he's trying to make friends with Putin."
After all, he said, "NATO exists largely to deter Russian aggression."
A weakened NATO and a U.S. president who's seemingly reluctant to criticize the Kremlin "are literally what Putin's wish list has been for the last two decades."
Article 5 'in question again'
How Trump can square his commitments to what the alliance stands for with a cozier relationship with the Kremlin will likely keep NATO members on edge. They will want reassurances from the Americans, Klaas said, and Trump campaigned in the 2016 election as a NATO skeptic.
It took Trump nearly half a year into his presidency for him to formally endorse NATO's Article 5 principle of collective defence, in which an attack on one member is considered an attack on all allies.
"I think that's up in question again," Klaas said.
Polyakova's worry, based on reports of satellite images showing ongoing nuclear activity in North Korea, is what kind of concessions Putin may be able to extract from Trump "without getting much in return, if anything at all."
Kim may have deceived this administration, she said, "but Putin has shown himself to be absolutely untrustworthy as a partner, potentially more so than Kim."
Experts expect Trump to continue pressing NATO allies toward more burden-sharing, in line with a 2024 goal for members to contribute two per cent of their GDP on defence.
Russian matryoshka dolls depicting Putin and Trump are on sale in the Ruslania bookstore in Helsinki Monday. (REUTERS)
In 2014, only four partners were meeting those targets. Trump wants more. His lobbying may have succeeded in that regard: eight countries now meet the spending targets.
"That's already a positive move," said Elena Sokova, a nonproliferation expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, in California. "Because no matter how you slice and dice it, there's a need for countries to be stepping up their spending for allocations for the military budgets."
Despite the president's rhetoric, his administration has arguably reinvigorated NATO, hiking spending on European defence by approving $6.3 billion.
A more fortified NATO is bad news for Putin, though he's at least scored a win by securing a meeting with Trump.
The president, for his part, said he is "looking forward" to the meeting in Finland, though one of his tweets on Monday raised eyebrows about just how willing he'll be to take the Russian leader to task.
Following reports that Kim had not honoured what Trump termed a denuclearization "contract,"
Trump wrote that he remained confident the North Korean would stay true to his word, based on "our handshake."
I have confidence that Kim Jong Un will honor the contract we signed &, even more importantly, our handshake. We agreed to the denuclearization of North Korea. China, on the other hand, may be exerting negative pressure on a deal because of our posture on Chinese Trade-Hope Not!
That reminded Sokova of Trump's rationale for doubting the Russians meddled in the 2016 U.S. election. Trump said he was certain because Putin told him so.
"You could say that's the equivalent of a handshake," Sokova said.
About the Author
Matt Kwong
Reporter
Matt Kwong is a Washington-based correspondent for CBC News. He previously reported for CBC News as an online journalist in New York and Toronto. You can follow him on Twitter at: @matt_kwong
1945 Comments Commenting is now closed for this story.
David R. Amos
Heres hoping Trump gets laughed out Dodge, NATO is dissolved and Putin cancels the meeting because he would rather go fishing than make a deal with a clown. Yea I know I'm dreaming but its 4 in the morning and I'm back to bed. Methinks that sometimes dreams come true N'esy Pas?
Nighty Night
Chris Jones
@David R. Amos Putin always speaks very diplomatically and respectfully about Trump, and almost every leader, but he especially seeks reconciliation with the US. That's why Trump's opponents are flim flammed about being bypassed. But what's really interesting, if I have this right, is that John Bolton will be beside Trump during the talks? To give the devil his due, or the devils, that could be interesting, since Bolton is really deep deep south.
David R. Amos
@Chris Jones Trust that I know Bolton very well Perhaps you should Google me
Chris Jones
@David R. Amos OK later
Chris Jones
The German Parliament seems to know better than Merkel.
@Chris Jones Methinks you have no idea I little I respect bible pounding war mongers N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Chris Jones 'German Parliament Report: U.S. Presence in Syria Is Illegal"
This is interesting though
john carter
One of my favorites from the good book, Lazarus. Matt has not been correct on any analysis of Trump for about 2 years, he still alludes that Russia hacked the US election, at the end of the article and via a third party quote. As for the Brooking's Institute? Uh oh...
Chris Jones
@john carter I think that it is Trump's racism that bothers him most. That's the same for a lot of people. They think that by getting rid of racists in positions of authority that they will ease the problem. But there are too many and it is part of human nature, the fear of the stranger. It's racism that's the problem, not the flesh and blood racist. People can change but racism is a spirit that lives forever.
David R. Amos
@john carter Methinks for obvious reasons the best part of the "Good" Book is the Book Of Amos N'esy Pas?
William Perry Trump attending a NATO summit is a disaster waiting to happen. He will accuse all members of not living up to their 2% commitment , that's a given. He will want to be the center of attention, that's a given. He will strut around with arms folded with a raised head and a downward look showing a disdain to all, that's a given. He will tell untruths, that's a given. He will push aside anyone that gets in front of him, that's a given. He has done it before. There is an expression that the British have that should be applied to Trump for his normal boorish behaviour. It is called "send him to Coventry". Basically it means "pretend that he is not there". Do not acknowledge his presence . When he asks a question, do not answer it. He simply will not know how to handle it.
David R. Amos
@William Perry "Trump attending a NATO summit is a disaster waiting to happen"
Methinks Trudeau the Younger and the other Yankee allies should be really on edge after all the people I called, emailed and tweeted today about NATO etc N'esy Pas?
@Lou Parks Methinks you are rather redundant with that question N'esy Pas?
John Oaktree
@Lou Parks
I think he means "messy paws", or "big claws", or "wood saws". I'm not really sure. I'm just guessing at the gibberish...
Lou Parks
@David R. Amos
Methinks you are rather redundant with your nonsensical repetition of "N'esy Pas", Dave
David R. Amos
@Lou Parks Methinks young liberal spin doctors in short pants at play in CBC should address me as Mr Amos to at least show some respect until they run for public office five times N'esy Pas?
Content disabled.
David R. Amos
@John Oaktree Methinks I see another comment from the left wingnut peanut gallery N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Lou Parks "Lou - look up "The Cold War". Once you read that, come back and we'll talk"
This article is about NATO and you wish to argue history correct?
Methinks you and your buddy Lou should Google the fllowing David Amos Federal Court then scroll down t Paragraph 83 of my lawsuit and read it real slow. Once you read that, come back and we'll talk N'esy Pas?
John Oaktree
@David R. Amos
What??
Singing Grandpa's???
Content disabled.
David R. Amos
@John Oaktree Methinks its interest that CBC blocked my last reply to your insults. Well one year ago kids in short pants from the left wing peanut gallery sang a different tune about Trump while I said enough to see CBC kill my account. Yet you still make fun of my lawsuits as a singing Grandpa? Clearly you kids watched the Fundy Royal Debate N'esy Pas?
Go to most liked comments for a little Deja Vu just like the title of this article states.
> Methinks young liberal spin doctors ... should address me as Mr Amos to at least show some respect ...
You must first *earn* that respect, Dave
> ... N'esy Pas?
So, again, what's that "N'esy Pas" nonsense all about?
David R. Amos
@John Oaktree "Singing Grandpa's???"
Hey kid why does CBC block every reply to you?
David R. Amos
@Lou Parks "You must first *earn* that respect"
Methinks that whereas you and Oaktree do not have mine perhaps you should Google your names sometime N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Lou Parks Methinks whereas you left wingers make fun of my lawsuits as a singing Grandpa clearly you watched the Fundy Royal Debate N'esy Pas?
John Oaktree
@David R. Amos
Why do you continue to use gibberish at the end of your posts when you know perfectly well it's gibberish?
pat fisher
The US is no longer a reliable ally or trading partner.
David R. Amos
@pat fisher "The US is no longer a reliable ally or trading partner"
Methinks it never was. In fact Louis Riel explained why in his writings N'esy Pas?
Arlond Lynds
The other NATO nations pay for their nations healthcare before defense. As it should be in the USA as well. To expect the rest of the world to spend like the USA would be ludicrous, America spends on offense not defense. To consider the USA spends on defense would be to suggest they are the most paranoid nation on the planet, then again ....
David R. Amos
@david mccaig "70% of the American congress are millionaires and billionaires."
True
Methinks whereas you are easily the most prolific of commenters within the CBC domain I suspect a lot folks think you work with them N'esy Pas?
Nigel Marshall
The US is the world's largest exporter of weapons. The demand that NATO countries spend more on defence is a thinly disguised demand that they buy more American exports. His decision to meet with Putin directly after the NATO summit is intimidation. He has already publicly stated tacit approval for Russian aggression against its neighbours. This takes protectionism to the level of a protection racket: 'Buy our weapons and stay safe. Be a shame if any small countries got invaded, wouldn't it?'
David R. Amos
@Nigel Marshall "The US is the world's largest exporter of weapons. The demand that NATO countries spend more on defence is a thinly disguised demand that they buy more American exports."
I agree
Wil Brown
Trump and Putin without cameras, advisers or witnesses. What could possibly go wrong?
Gia Adams
@Karen King
If Trump was ever kidnapped no one would pay the ransom.
David R. Amos
@Gia Adams "If Trump was ever kidnapped no one would pay the ransom".
I disagree
Methinks Trump's number one lawyer Mikey Cohen has a suitcase already loaded just in case N'esy Pas?
Neil Gregory
In the past year and a half, Trump has proven to America's trading partners and allies that the USA can no longer be trusted to live up to the treaties it has signed. Countries who are members of NATO and the G-7 need to be very wary of any further dealings with America as long as Trump and company hold office.
John Smith
@Neil Gregory Of coarse the all of NATO never bothered living up to their agreement to spend 2% of their GDP on defense but that doesn't matter at all this is about trump not being trust worthy for not living up to his agreement. Do as I say not as I do.
David R. Amos
@John Smith "Of coarse the all of NATO never bothered living up to their agreement to spend 2% of their GDP on defense"
Methinks most of the NATO members know their club should be a matter of history that should have bee disbanded after the Cold War was over nearly 30 years ago. It appears that only Trump wants it to be great again N'esy Pas?
Brian Cohen
Starting trade wars, attempting to destabilize the west, slagging his closest allies, threatening to scrap NATO, promoting Russian interests ..... Best money Putin ever spent was buying the orange sack of
Jackson Thomson
@Brian Cohen
This is the greatest coup in the 21st century and without any bloodshed.
Quite civilized and brilliant on part of Putin. Ghandi would be proud.
David R. Amos
@Jackson Thomson "Quite civilized and brilliant on part of Putin."
Methinks Putin did not do a thing except possibly laugh at the Yankee nonsense N'esy Pas?
Gorden Feist
"Trump reportedly hinted at the G7 that Crimea in Ukraine should belong to Russia, reasoning that most citizens there speak Russian. "
By that logic most of southern USA should belong to Spain, and the rest to England.
Yugo Ivanovich
@Gorden Feist For over 280 years Crimea was Russian and Soviet Union territory. In 1954 Hruscov give Crimea to Ukraine (at that time part of USSR). Close to 90% of Crimea population are Russians. Since break up of the USSR Ukraine is no longer part of Russian Federation and Russia took Crimea back without a single bullet fired. In the referendum 87% Crimea citizens voted to join Russian Federation.
David R. Amos
@Yugo Ivanovich Well Done Sir
Methinks political pundits hate irrefutable facts Thats why they ignore you N'esy Pas?
Andrew McLaren
There are already more grounds for impeachment with the currently serving US President than any who have preceded him, bar none. Trump's agenda consists of nothing more than defending the indefensible, enabling corruption, and malicious spite towards anyone who knows or upholds anything better; he does not deserve to be treated with deference, nor with respect.
fred smith
@Andrew McLaren
'Spite' is not a impeachable offense, nor is 'defending the indefensible'. Now 'enabling corruption' might be but if you want to up hold western jurisprudence, prove it in a court of law.
Just curious what are you referring to when you say 'enabling corruption'?
David R. Amos
@fred smith I agree
Methinks the ghost of General Andrew Jackson the seventh President would affirm that banksters and corruption were part and parcel of the US Congress long before Trump's grandfather immigrated to the USA in 1885 N'esy Pas?
Ivor Sargent
The best hope for NATO is the impeachment of Trump.
Jack Kileen
@Dan Joseph Well, given the Senate map for mid-terms and libs staring down a GOP super-majority, lets see indeed
David R. Amos
@Ivor Sargent "The best hope for NATO is the impeachment of Trump'
Methinks it would not be wise to hold any hope for NATO whatsoever. Many folks would agree that it should have went the way of the Dodo Bird long ago N'esy Pas?
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The NATO flag is seen through barbed wire as it flies in front of the new NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on May 24, 2017. Christian Hartmann / Reuters
Speaking days before an election most observers thought him sure to win, a long-serving Eurasian strongman railed against human rights, malevolent western powers, and rapacious “international speculators.” If delivered a fourth term in office, he vowed, vengeance against enemies of the state would be swift. His ruling party would achieve “satisfaction” against its adversaries, both foreign and domestic, he pledged in language that sounded both threatening and heartfelt. This could easily have been Vladimir Putin, but it wasn’t. It was the leader of an American treaty ally. Under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who faces an election this weekend, Hungary has become an increasingly autocratic and pro-Russian state—and it’s one that also happens to be in NATO.
In addition to the threat of Russian adventurism, NATO is facing a new menace, and the enemy is within. The alliance of 29 states bound by a pledge of collective defense has, particularly since the conclusion of the Cold War, defined itself by a set of common values and a membership composed of human rights-respecting democracies. The accuracy of this self-conception preceding the fall of the Berlin Wall was at times debatable. Today, it may be falling apart.
From Budapest to Warsaw to Ankara, a new generation of strongmen within the alliance seeks to govern in a manner closer to that of Putin than to that of the democratic reformers of the immediate post-Cold War epoch. Which raises the question of whether an alliance, designed to contain the Soviet Union and ostensibly organized around democratic ideals, can endure attacks on the rule of law by a growing subset of its members.
“Russia aims to weaken U.S. influence in the world and divide us from our allies and partners,” says the Trump administration’s 2017 National Security Strategy. The line, while accurate, reflects poorly on the strategy’s ostensible author, given that among other things it implicitly refers to Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election on behalf of Donald Trump. Left unwritten is that Russia’s goal of creating distance between the United States and its allies is part of what attracted it to Trump in the first place. As a candidate, Trump called NATO“obsolete.” As president, he initially declined to reaffirm America’s commitment to the alliance’s mutual defense provision, before begrudgingly reversing course at the insistence of his advisers.
Russian interference in elections on both sides of the Atlantic, and particularly its recent alleged poisoning of a former spy in the United Kingdom, may have had the unintended consequence of drawing many NATO allies closer. Yet divisions emerging from democratic backsliding by NATO states may have the effect, over the longer run, of contributing to Russian aims. Start with Hungary, once considered a post-Cold War democratic success story. Since coming to power in 2010, the government led by Viktor Orbán has enacted far-reaching changes to the country’s constitution, election laws, and courts. The effect has been to politicize virtually all elements of national government to advantage Orbán’s Fidesz party, and to facilitate blatant crony capitalism.
Orbán, who lacks a strong political opponent to run against this weekend, has instead focused a stream of invective against migrants, Muslims, the European Union, and George Soros, while repeatedly flirting with anti-Semitism. These messages are delivered via a once-independent media that has largely been captured by the prime minister’s allies. Civil-liberties groups in the country, under legal attack for years, are bracing for increased hardship if not outright elimination by a leader who has publicly praised Putin’s illiberal state.
Not content to simply emulate the Russian model domestically, Orbán has also adopted an increasingly pro-Russian foreign policy, and, in the words of a recent Senate Foreign Relations Committee minority staff report, “has taken no discernable steps to stop or even discourage Russian malign influence.” Orbán has been explicit in his criticism of Western sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Multiple reports, meanwhile, indicate that Russian intelligence services may be using Hungary as, in the words of a former U.S. embassy official, “an intel[ligence] forward operating base in NATO and the EU.”
If the policies of the Hungarian government call into question that country’s commitment to the stated values and interests that underpin the NATO alliance, its Polish counterpart presents a more complicated picture.
Since coming to power in 2015, Poland’s conservative Law and Justice party has maintained the country’s longstanding antagonism toward Russia, and welcomed NATO forces (including those of the United States) into the country. Bound by a common platform of nationalism, euroskepticism, and anti-migrant sentiment, Warsaw has also emulated and protected Hungary’s illiberal turn within the EU. The party led by Jarosław Kaczyński, a former prime minister, has followed Orbán’s Hungarian model at an accelerated pace—undermining independent courts, curtailing the ability of non-governmental organizations to operate freely, and impairing the country’s media.
Most recently, in February, the Polish government absorbed international opprobrium, including from the State Department, for enacting legislation that criminalizes speech related to the involvement of the Polish government or people in the Holocaust. The EU, criticized for failing to stop Hungary’s illiberal slide, has responded to these actions by invoking the EU Treaty’s Article 7 procedure, or so-called “nuclear option,” which would ultimately strip Poland of its voting rights within the bloc. The chances of such an outcome, however, are slim. Orbán and Kaczyński have made clear that they will ride to each other’s rescue, creating an emerging “axis of illiberalism” within Europe. The NATO alliance thus faces a problematic odd couple. On one hand is a leader whose government openly seeks closer ties with the Kremlin. On the other is a Russia hawk whose government hosts one of four multinational “battlegroups” on NATO’s eastern periphery, yet may be strengthening Russia’s hand in the long run by hollowing out his country’s institutions and backing his southern neighbor.
For all of these troubling aspects, the parallel assaults on rule of law in Hungary and Poland pale in comparison to those in Turkey. Since an attempted coup in July 2016, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government has maintained a state of emergency under which an estimated 60,000 people have been arrested, with many tens of thousands more losing their jobs. Earlier this year, Freedom House downgraded the country from “partly free” to “not free” in its annual survey. According to human rights groups, Erdoğan’s government is engaged in disappearances and torture, and has begun prosecuting its citizens for critical posts on social media.
Turkey’s slide into authoritarianism has coincided with a worsening diplomatic relationship with the United States. On March 13, Turkish prosecutors indicted American pastor Andrew Brunson on charges related to the failed coup, seeking life imprisonment. Brunson has been held in pre-trial detention for 18 months in what some analysts describe as a hostage-taking related to Turkish requests for the United States to extradite cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for the failed coup. The Brunson indictment follows the conviction in February of dual Turkish-American citizen and NASA employee Serkan Golge, who was sentenced to 7 and a half years in prison in a trial the U.S. embassy in Ankara alleged lacked credible evidence.
In addition to tensions over the coup attempt and its aftermath, Washington and Ankara have long differed on fundamental aspects of policy concerning the conflict in Syria. Today, the two allies stand perilously close to confrontation over the Kurdish-controlled Syrian town of Manbij. And, like Orbán, Erdoğan has sought closer ties with Russia, with Turkey recently announcing that it would buy the Russian S-400 long-range air and anti-missile defense system instead of a NATO interoperable system.
Throughout the Cold War, NATO alliance members did at times fail to live up to the democratic principles enshrined in the North Atlantic Treaty. Portugal joined NATO as a founding member while under the corporatist dictatorship of António Salazar. Turkey, which joined in 1952, suffered three breakdowns of democratic governance and subsequent military rule during the Cold War. Likewise, Greece remained a NATO member in good standing following a 1967 coup d'état and seven ensuing years of military dictatorship marked by grievous human rights violations.
Yet the mounting authoritarianism in Hungary, Poland, and Turkey likely poses the greatest internal threat to the NATO alliance in its history. Any alliance depends on its members sharing common goals. During the Cold War, NATO served to keep peace in post-WWII Europe by “keep[ing] the Soviet Union out, the Americans in, and the Germans down,” in the famous telling of its first secretary general. With the raison d'etre of territorial defense essentially nullified by the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO has until recently largely justified itself through so-called “out-of-area” operations in places like Bosnia and Afghanistan, and by the presumed power of the alliance to bind its members around respect for democratic values and institutions. In 2016, the leaders of NATO member states went so far as to say that its “essential mission” was “to ensure that the Alliance remains an unparalleled community of freedom, peace, security, and shared values, including individual liberty, human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.”
As tensions rapidly escalate with Russia, territorial defense, particularly of those former Soviet states now anchoring the alliance’s eastern edge, has come roaring back. But it would be a mistake to prioritize short-term expediency over long-term cohesion. Ultimately, alliances rely on trust, and shared values are one of the core reasons that treaty members can trust one another. Illiberal turns can have direct consequences for intelligence-sharing and defense cooperation. Turkey’s pending acquisition of the S-400 air defense system is case in point.
And while the North Atlantic Treaty contains no provision to suspend members deemed to be operating in contravention of its principles, member states can challenge offending governments. Congress and the administration are already taking halting steps in this direction. The State Department recently advertised a grant that would help bolster Hungary’s beleaguered independent media sector, and has in the past has barred the travel to the United States of Hungarian officials over corruption allegations. The administration and members of Congress have criticized the Polish government for its steps to erode judicial independence and chill free speech. In October, the U.S. embassy in Ankara took the unprecedented step of ceasing to process visas in response to Turkey’s detention of Turkish citizens employed at U.S. consulates.
Even stronger measures—more funding for civil-liberties groups, say, or even targeted sanctions—are unlikely to reverse illiberal trends in Turkey, Poland, and Hungary in the near term, particularly when the president of the United States evinces authoritarian tendencies of his own. Still, such steps can send a strong signal to audiences within these countries, and to populist leaders elsewhere in Europe, that the United States (minus the commander-in-chief, perhaps) considers backsliding on democracy within the world’s premier democratic alliance a matter of national security. A NATO alliance grounded in respect for human rights cannot, over the long term, abide chronic abusers of human rights. Nor can it effectively counter the likes of Vladimir Putin with Putinesque leaders in its midst.
Ukraine to participate in NATO meeting despite Hungary's opposition - Prystaiko
Ukraine has managed to bypass the blocking of the NATO summit by Hungary, and the meeting will be held jointly with Georgia in Brussels.
Vadym Prystaiko, head of the Ukrainian delegation to the North Atlantic Alliance, said this on the program "Tomorrow," a joint project of the 112 Ukraine television channel and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
"Thanks to cooperation with NATO allies, we managed to overcome an obstacle created by Hungary, which is trying to abuse the principle of consensus that exists in NATO. The option, which was determined, is a joint meeting with Georgia just ten years after the Bucharest summit, when both Ukraine and Georgia were promised that they would become NATO members. We are going to meet again with the alliance and will discuss how Ukraine and Georgia have progressed over this time, what else to do, and what kind of assistance the alliance can provide to both countries," he said.
Prystaiko also suggested that Hungary might block a statement of the meeting, but stressed that the declaration of the summit would be more important to Ukraine.
As reported, Hungary has been blocking meetings as part of Ukraine's cooperation with the EU and NATO due to the law on education adopted by Kyiv, which entered into force on September 28, 2017. Budapest saw in the law a violation of the rights of the Hungarian minority regarding compulsory education in the state language. Kyiv rejects these accusations.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Hungary's decision to block NUC political meetings remained in force. At the same time, Szijjarto confirmed that Hungary had eased requirements for Ukraine related to the law on education - now it is not about abolishing the language norm, but rather fulfilling two norms of the Venice Commission's recommendations.
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Photo: U.S. Navy Poseidon P-8A at Keflavik. 8 November 2017. Credit: b737.org.uk
NATO Demands Cause Headaches in Iceland
By Lowana Veal
REYKJAVIK (IDN) – In February 2016, the U.S. government started discussions with its Icelandic counterpart on the possibility of carrying out necessary changes to the doors of the NATO hangar at Keflavik airport so that newer, larger submarine reconnaissance planes could be housed there. The matter was eventually concluded in December 2017, when the U.S. government agreed to funding.
The hangar is located in the security zone of the old U.S. military base, “Naval Air Station Keflavik”, and the reconnaissance planes in question are of the Poseidon P-8A type, designed to track the increased presence of Russian nuclear and conventional submarines in waters around Iceland – the so-called Greenland, Iceland and United Kingdom (GIUK) Gap.
There are now more Russian nuclear and conventional submarines in the GIUK Gap than during the Cold War. According to Iceland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs, surveillance flights were made from Iceland on 77 days in 2016, whereas in 2017 such flights were made on 153 days, using P-3 and P-8A surveillance planes operated by the United States and other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) states. The P-3 is the predecessor of the P-8A.
“It was assumed from the beginning that the alterations would be funded by the U.S. government,” a Foreign Affairs ministry press officer said. In the United States 2018 Defence Budget, 14.4 million dollars was requested and allocated for “airfield upgrades” in Iceland, under Section 4602, Military Construction for Overseas Contingency Operations, and Section 2903, Air Force Construction and Land Acquisition Project. The latter allows the Secretary of the Air Force to acquire “real property” and carry out military construction projects for installations outside of the United States.
However, expenditure was also increased on the Icelandic side. In a report entitled Iceland’s Defence and NATO Operations in Iceland, dated March 8, 2017, the Icelandic Coastguard reports “increased maritime operations and capabilities”, while the Foreign Affairs Ministry says that operational funding was increased by 34 percent in the 2017 Icelandic budget “due to the operation of structures and an air defence system at Keflavik airport”.
The topic has been controversial, partly because the U.S. military left Iceland in September 2006 and there are fears that they may be considering a return. Although much of the deserted base is now being used for educational and high-tech purposes, part of the base is still closed to the public. Here, the Coastguard is responsible for maintaining hangars and other military facilities intact, while also overseeing air traffic control over Iceland, both of civilian and military planes.
In July 2016, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published a report in which it openly suggested: “NATO can optimise its ASW [anti-submarine warfare] posture to ensure that the right capabilities are in the right places at the right time by reopening Keflavik Naval Air Station in Iceland...”
After parliamentary elections in October 2017, Katrin Jakobsdottir became Prime Minister. Allegedly the most trusted politician in Iceland at the time, she is leader of the Left-Green party, the second-largest party in the Althingi [Iceland’s Parliament], which has always had Iceland’s withdrawal from NATO as part of its manifesto although the issue was hardly mentioned in the run-up to the elections.
Its policy, however, is not shared by the other two coalition parties, the centrist Progressive Party and the right-wing Independent Party, which holds the most seats in the 63-member Althingi.
Nevertheless, in early December 2017, shortly after becoming Prime Minister, she had asked the Foreign Affairs Minister, Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson, what exactly was involved in revamping of the hangar and reiterated the opposition of the Left-Greens to a military presence in Iceland. She was told that there was no intention of setting up a NATO military base in Iceland again.
Early in 2017, Steinunn Thora Arnadottir from the Left-Greens asked Foreign Affairs Minister Thordarson whether Iceland would take part in discussions leading up to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Thordarson explained that as a NATO member, it decided to boycott the talks because “Iceland considered it necessary that the nuclear states take part in the disarmament process and it was clear that this would not be the case.”
When the Left-Greens were part of the Opposition last year, Jakobsdottir was one of the seventeen Icelandic politicians who signed ICAN’s Parliamentary Pledge after the TPNW was adopted by the United Nations in July 2017. Most of the signatories were from the Left-Green and Pirate parties.
On their way back from accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo in December 2017, Ray Acheson from Reaching Critical Will/WILPF and ICAN Australia’s Tim Wright visited Iceland. “Katrin [Jakobsdottir] came to the public talk that Tim and I gave at the university, and we also met with the rest of the Left-Greens, as well as the Pirate Party, the foreign ministry and the mayor of Reykjavik,” Acheson said.
Acheson is positive about Iceland in relation to the new Treaty, saying “there is always hope of any democratic government joining the nuclear ban treaty, as such governments are subject to the will of their people. But we do think, with Katrín Jakobsdóttir as prime minister, Iceland is in a strong position to join the treaty and lead other NATO countries to support real steps towards nuclear disarmament.”
She believes that “while Katrín and others in the government who support the ban treaty face opposition from other colleagues, it's going to be important for Iceland to reclaim its position as a country opposed to nuclear weapons, not one that hides behind the position of NATO or the United States and allows the indiscriminate slaughter of civilians to be threatened on its behalf.”
Acheson goes on to say that “the new government, with its principled positions on issues of humanitarianism and disarmament, must make it clear that Iceland does not agree that nuclear weapons are legal or acceptable weapons for anyone to have or to use."
Tim Wright is optimistic. “I believe it's inevitable that Iceland will sign and ratify the treaty. It would be irresponsible not to. Katrin Jakobsdottir has pledged her support, and I'm confident that other members of her government will do the same. Nuclear weapons serve no legitimate purpose whatsoever. Iceland should be unequivocal in its opposition to them,” he pointed out.
“As a nation with no military, Iceland has a proud history of supporting peace efforts. It should be leading global efforts to eliminate the worst weapons of mass destruction, not dragging its feet.” [IDN-InDepthNews – 15 January 2018]
Photo: U.S. Navy Poseidon P-8A at Keflavik. 8 November 2017. Credit: b737.org.uk IDN is flagship agency of the International Press Syndicate. facebook.com/IDN.GoingDeeper - twitter.com/InDepthNews
---------- Original message ---------- From: Jody.Wilson-Raybould@parl.gc.ca Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2018 13:00:48 +0000 Subject: Automatic reply: ATTN Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP RE NATO etc Methinks you should read this email real slow then say Hey to May, Trump and Trudeau for me N'esy Pas? To: motomaniac333@gmail.com
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Garry Moore Even the BBC is calling us out. My reply Methinks I called out BBC et al in an ethical fashion but too bad so sad some of my replies were disabled Surprise Surprise N'esy Pas? #Trudeau
Statement of Claim Federal Court of Canada File # T-1557-15
A portion of Statement # 83
83. The Plaintiff states that now that Canada is involved in more war in Iraq again it did not serve Canadian interests and reputation to allow Barry Winters to publish the following words three times over five years after he began his bragging:
Friday, October 3, 2014 Little David Amos’ “True History Of War” Canadian Airstrikes And Stupid Justin Trudeau
Canada’s and Canadians free ride is over. Canada can no longer hide behind Amerka’s and NATO’s skirts.
When I was still in Canadian Forces then Prime Minister Jean Chretien actually committed the Canadian Army to deploy in the second campaign in Iraq, the Coalition of the Willing. This was against or contrary to the wisdom or advice of those of us Canadian officers that were involved in the initial planning phases of that operation. There were significant concern in our planning cell, and NDHQ about of the dearth of concern for operational guidance, direction, and forces for operations after the initial occupation of Iraq. At the “last minute” Prime Minister Chretien and the Liberal government changed its mind. The Canadian government told our amerkan cousins that we would not deploy combat troops for the Iraq campaign, but would deploy a Canadian Battle Group to Afghanistan, enabling our amerkan cousins to redeploy troops from there to Iraq. The PMO’s thinking that it was less costly to deploy Canadian Forces to Afghanistan than Iraq. But alas no one seems to remind the Liberals of Prime Minister Chretien’s then grossly incorrect assumption.
David R. Amos
@David R. Amos continued
Notwithstanding Jean Chretien’s incompetence and stupidity, the Canadian Army was heroic, professional, punched well above it’s weight, and the PPCLI Battle Group, is credited with “saving Afghanistan” during the Panjway campaign of 2006.
What Justin Trudeau and the Liberals don’t tell you now, is that then Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien committed, and deployed the Canadian army to Canada’s longest “war” without the advice, consent, support, or vote of the Canadian Parliament.
What David Amos and the rest of the ignorant, uneducated, and babbling chattering classes are too addled to understand is the deployment of less than 75 special operations troops, and what is known by planners as a “six pac cell” of fighter aircraft is NOT the same as a deployment of a Battle Group, nor a “war” make.
The Canadian Government or The Crown unlike our amerkan cousins have the “constitutional authority” to commit the Canadian nation to war. That has been recently clearly articulated to the Canadian public by constitutional scholar Phillippe Legasse. What Parliament can do is remove “confidence” in The Crown’s Government in a “vote of non-confidence.” That could not happen to the Chretien Government regarding deployment to Afghanistan, and it won’t happen in this instance with the conservative majority in The Commons regarding a limited Canadian deployment to the Middle East.
Content disabled.
David R. Amos
@David R. Amos continued
President George Bush was quite correct after 911 and the terror attacks in New York; that the Taliban “occupied” and “failed state” Afghanistan was the source of logistical support, command and control, and training for the Al Quaeda war of terror against the world. The initial defeat, and removal from control of Afghanistan was vital and essential for the security and tranquility of the developed world. An ISIS “caliphate,” in the Middle East, no matter how small, is a clear and present danger to the entire world. This “occupied state,” or“failed state” will prosecute an unending Islamic inspired war of terror against not only the “western world,” but Arab states “moderate” or not, as well. The security, safety, and tranquility of Canada and Canadians are just at risk now with the emergence of an ISIS“caliphate” no matter how large or small, as it was with the Taliban and Al Quaeda “marriage” in Afghanistan.
One of the everlasting “legacies” of the “Trudeau the Elder’s dynasty was Canada and successive Liberal governments cowering behind the amerkan’s nuclear and conventional military shield, at the same time denigrating, insulting them, opposing them, and at the same time self-aggrandizing ourselves as “peace keepers,” and progenitors of “world peace.” Canada failed. The United States of Amerka, NATO, the G7 and or G20 will no longer permit that sort of sanctimonious behavior from Canada or its government any longer. And Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Foreign Minister John Baird , and Cabinet are fully cognizant of that reality. Even if some editorial boards, and pundits are not.
Content disabled.
David R. Amos
@David R. Amos Continued
Justin, Trudeau “the younger” is reprising the time “honoured” liberal mantra, and tradition of expecting the amerkans or the rest of the world to do “the heavy lifting.” Justin Trudeau and his “butt buddy” David Amos are telling Canadians that we can guarantee our security and safety by expecting other nations to fight for us. That Canada can and should attempt to guarantee Canadians safety by providing “humanitarian aid” somewhere, and call a sitting US president a “war criminal.” This morning Australia announced they too, were sending tactical aircraft to eliminate the menace of an ISIS “caliphate.”
In one sense Prime Minister Harper is every bit the scoundrel Trudeau “the elder” and Jean ‘the crook” Chretien was. Just As Trudeau, and successive Liberal governments delighted in diminishing, marginalizing, under funding Canadian Forces, and sending Canadian military men and women to die with inadequate kit and modern equipment; so too is Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Canada’s F-18s are antiquated, poorly equipped, and ought to have been replaced five years ago. But alas, there won’t be single RCAF fighter jock that won’t go, or won’t want to go, to make Canada safe or safer.
My Grandfather served this country. My father served this country. My Uncle served this country. And I have served this country. Justin Trudeau has not served Canada in any way. Thomas Mulcair has not served this country in any way. Liberals and so called social democrats haven’t served this country in any way. David Amos, and other drooling fools have not served this great nation in any way. Yet these fools are more than prepared to ensure their, our safety to other nations, and then criticize them for doing so.
There is a lot more
David R. Amos
@Garry Moore Methinksl I called out BBC et al in an ethical fashion but too bad so sad some of my replies were disabled Surprise Surprise N'esy Pas?
Relations between Canada and the U.S. tense amid tariff war
Murray Brewster· CBC News· Posted: Jul 11, 2018 4:00 AM ET
3187 Comments
Paul Cooper
Good. Unfortunately there is really no point in talking to him anymore.
Sally Ride
@Paul Cooper Trump or Trudeau?
David R. Amos
@Sally Ride Both
"While in Brussels Wednesday, Trudeau announced that Canada will assume command of a new NATO training mission in Iraq that will include the deployment of up to 250 Canadian Armed Forces personnel for one year.
The troops will be deployed to Baghdad and the surrounding area, along with up to four Griffon helicopters to support NATO activities."
Emmanuel Rochon
The USA is moving to chart its own very independent course in trade and politics, apart from all other countries, perhaps except for Russia and Israel, and now they are trying to manage our military spending? All this after is after throwing a global fit when Canada retaliated by imposing tariffs of its own. The USA can't have it both ways...asserting its independence from the world while still ordering the world around.
Mark Leenders
@Joe Renaud I'm sure that's a large part of Trump's sudden demands for more spending. We should buy our next jets from Sweden (the Viggen) or maybe buy the Eurofighter Typhoon.
David R. Amos
@Mark Leenders Why not?
David R. Amos
@Mark Leenders Better yet why not have Bombardier build our own?
George Abbott
Now that the Thailand Cave rescue is over we are back to Trump headline news again. How depressing.
Kevin Delaney
@Ron Paul Obama was part of the core problem that led to Trump & the current mess. No partisanship can be permitted here.
Kevin Delaney
@George Abbott Both Putin & Trump are depressing. The fact that one is playing the other to great effect is even more depressing. The fact that a once great nation is content to be played & even denies being played... well, how depressing is that??
David R. Amos
@Kevin Delaney Methinks you need to learn to not take things to seriously and simply enjoy the circus because there is nothing you can do about it anyway N'esy Pas?
Erin Wilson
Good for Trudeau. There's really no point in ever trying to communicate with Don Trump again. Don Trump has become more unhinged. Don Trump is extremely dishonest & you can't trust or believe a word that he says.
If Trudeau does talk to Don Trump, he should ask Don Trump if the big Baby Trump balloon blimp will be in the Macy's parade or Don Trump's big maga-military parade.
Ian MacDonald
@Kurt Westerguard What have we asked for? For Trump to honour agreements? To bargain in good faith? Instead the twit in chief continually makes bad deals and poor decisions for his country while being lauded by the right.
I love how you think Trudeau is "the worst card player". Global trade isn't a game or something you can win. It's about mutually beneficial growth. If America has a trade deficit it's probably because the USA is the world's largest consumer.
But whatever, socks selfies brows take your pick.
David R. Amos
@Ian MacDonald "Global trade isn't a game or something you can win. It's about mutually beneficial growth. If America has a trade deficit it's probably because the USA is the world's largest consumer"
YUP
Allan Campbell
The world needs to stop giving trump the attention he craves.
David R. Amos
@Allan Campbell YUP
Dale Sullivan
When it comes to trade, Trump believes he can put everyone on their knees. He may have bitten off more than he can chew with China. Trump thinks a trade deficit means the country is losing money. Eventually his hissy fits will start to hurt Americans with lost jobs and higher prices. Better to stay away from him.
David R. Amos
@Dale Sullivan "He may have bitten off more than he can chew with China."
YUP
Kathy Altenhofen
Maybe the warmongers should decrease their military spending and fund something for the US citizens, like universal health care.
Kevin Delaney
@Kathy Altenhofen LOL America will start doing that when Putin starts funding Russian old age pensions
David R. Amos
@Kevin Delaney Methinks you are starting to enjoy the circus N'esy Pas?
Richard Dunphy
What's the point of anyone talking with someone like Trump?
Trump is cognitively unable to grasp the most basic of concepts - like 'Balanced Trade'.
Talking with Trump is exactly like talking with Kim j-un.
They each just want the spotlight and a good photo-op or sound byte.
Manny Fredrick
@Richard Dunphy Maybe Justin will teach him how budgets balance themselves, whoops, hasn't happened yet. But then, Justin hates photo ops.
David R. Amos
@Manny Fredrick Methinks many a true word is said in jest N'esy Pas?
Kevin Delaney
America these days has more in common with Russia via Trump then America has with Canada. America has a leader that values dictatorial practices via a supreme leader. That needs to be pointed out to America by those who were once America's allies.
Putin is pleased to welcome Trump & America to his club. The US Republicans seems pleased as well.
David R. Amos
@Kevin Delaney "Putin is pleased to welcome Trump & America to his club. The US Republicans seems pleased as well"
Methinks you must be joking N'esy Pas?
Ian MacDonald
"Germany is a captive of Russia!"- Trump That's the pot calling the kettle black
Kevin Delaney
@Ian MacDonald Putin is howling with laughter at that one. Donnie is going to get a hearty back slap & hand shake. Trumps's debrief with Putin will go very well.
David R. Amos
@Kevin Delaney "Putin is howling with laughter at that one. YUP
Donnie is going to get a hearty back slap & hand shake. Trumps's debrief with Putin will go very well. NOPE
Trump suggests NATO allies could double defence spending beyond 2014 pledge
U.S. leader kicks off 2-day summit by accusing Germany of being a 'captive of Russia' over energy deal
The Associated Press·
3153 Comments
Kevin Graves (AKA Jaspersdad)
Seriously, a man with 6 bankruptcies telling others how to pay bills.
Kate Ferguson
@Kevin Graves (AKA Jaspersdad)
Trump is putting on a reality show for Americans, it's called "I'm the tough guy on the block here at this meeting". NATO members agreed last year to boost their military spending. He's really rather obvious and pathetic to most observers - while his cult will eat it up.
David R. Amos
@Kate Ferguson Methinks you will be disgusted by the fact I agree the statement above N'esy Pas?
Kevin Graves (AKA Jaspersdad)
Since the US gets much of its oil from Canada, does that make the US captive of Canada?
David R. Amos
@Kevin Graves (AKA Jaspersdad) Methinks you must be joking about the US getting much of its oil from Canada N'esy Pas?
Neil Austen
Just hope Canadians are smart enough to see Trump for the disgrace that he is and know that Canada would never survive another Trump-Harper style government in power.
David R. Amos
@Neil Austen Methinks you are loyal liberal through thick and thin N'esy Pas?
Kate Ferguson
"Germany is totally controlled by Russia because they will be getting from 60% to 70% of their energy from Russia and a new pipeline" Trump
Wrong as usual. Germany relies on Russia for most of its imports of natural gas. But gas makes up less than 20% of Germany's energy mix for power production.
David R. Amos
@Kate Ferguson Methinks by the same token Russia relies on Germany to import its natural gas. Thats the nature of free trade that Trump's bankster backers do not want his mindless fan base to understand N'esy Pas?
Marc Belanger
The advantage of being accused by DT of something is that it right away invalidates it.
David R. Amos
@Marc Belanger YUP
Kimmy Smith
Ah yes, another gift to Putin. Trump is a Russian asset, no doubt about it.
Michael Murphy
@Patrick Smyth Under US law, any person born to an American parent is American
Under that same logic, Trump is indeed German
David R. Amos
@Kimmy Smith I disagree
David R. Amos
@Michael Murphy Methinks even you know your logic is flawed N'esy Pas?
Francis Lee
Please Mr. Mueller - hurry up and get this disgrace of a POTUS impeached . . .
Content disabled.
David R. Amos
@Francis Lee Methinks much to your chagrin it is Mr Mueller who should be questioned by Congress or his questionable actions N'esy Pas?
William Perry
Vladimir does not like NATO. To him it is a constant threat. Donald, when he says that NATO is obsolete is pleasing Vladimir to no end. The word that comes to my mind is t---tor.
David R. Amos
@William Perry NATO is obsolete
Thomas Magnum
signed by Trump: from Russia with love...
David R. Amos
@Thomas Magnum NOPE
Ken MacDonald
Now that''s the kettle calling the pot black. Leave it to Trump, what a joke.
David R. Amos
@Ken MacDonald Welcome to the circus
Trump says NATO allies like Canada are 'delinquent' on military spending. Is he wrong?
'We're the schmucks that are paying for the whole thing,' President Trump says
John Paul Tasker· CBC News· Posted: Jul 11, 2018 6:10 PM ET
Last Updated: an hour ago
U.S. President Donald Trump checks his watch prior to a dinner with leaders at the NATO summit in Brussels. Trump says NATO allies need to spend more on defence. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP Photo)
U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up his rhetoric on defence spending Wednesday, urging NATO countries to meet lofty spending targets immediately or risk being branded as "delinquent."
At the core of his criticism of the multilateral alliance is the argument that the U.S. foots the bill for far too much of the alliance's defence capacity, and other member nations — including Canada — are "freeloaders" for failing to contribute their fair share of domestic military spending.
"We're the schmucks that are paying for the whole thing," Trump said at a recent rally.
"Frankly, many countries owe us a tremendous amount of money for many years back, where they're delinquent, as far as I'm concerned, because the United States has had to pay for them."
The president's pointed language might be off-putting for some Canadian observers — but is he right to call Canada a parsimonious defence partner?
"Yes, I think Trump has a point in that defence expenditure is a burden predominately carried by the U.S. The U.S. carries the load," Colin Robertson, a former top diplomat and the vice-president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said in an interview with CBC News.
"We've got to do more. We can't expect the American public to pay all the costs of this alliance."
NATO is the central pillar of Euro-Atlantic defence and the cornerstone of Canadian defence and security policy — which is why Canada should contribute more, Robertson said.
"But Trump puts people off. Nobody likes a bully. When a bully tells you to do something, you usually tell him to f-off. It makes it hard for Trudeau to do something because a certain group of Canadians will be saying, 'Oh you're just kowtowing to Trump,'" he added.
"Canadian prime ministers have always been careful to keep a distance from their American counterparts ... but the bottom line is you do have to look at dollars because dollars do talk."
He said Canada should spend more on defence not merely to please Trump — who will just "take, take, take"— but also to serve our own national interests by increasing troop levels, replacing aging equipment, protecting Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic and taking part in humanitarian missions abroad.
Obama and Trump on the same page
European — and Canadian — military budgets have increased over the last two years, something Trump prodded NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to give him credit for on Wednesday.
But NATO spending is an old obsession of American presidents. Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, also chastised "free riders" for failing to spend a long-held target of two per cent of their national gross domestic products on the military.
Obama suggested the United Kingdom's reluctance to increase its defence spending could threaten its "special relationship" with the United States.
Obama even called out Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the issue when he addressed Parliament in June 2016. "The world needs more Canada. NATO needs more Canada. We need you."
Obama: 'The world needs more Canada'
00:0001:21
Obama: 'The world needs more Canada' 1:21
U.S. leaders have long looked with envy at the relatively low defence spending levels of other NATO countries as the Pentagon's budget continues to swell.
Canada signed on to an agreement to move "toward" the two per cent spending target at the 2014 NATO summit in Wales — a commitment that would cost Canadian taxpayers billions of dollars — to satisfy U.S. and NATO demands.
Canada's current spending comes in at just over one per cent of GDP — roughly $20 billion a year — a figure that many argue is simply too low to sustain a modern fighting force.
Others say quality is just as important as quantity. Trudeau has said that the two per cent benchmark doesn't adequately address the totality of a country's commitment to the alliance.
"I think the two per cent metric is an easy shorthand ... it is a very specific and, to a certain extent, limited tool,'' Trudeau said Tuesday after meeting with Canadian soldiers taking part in a NATO mission in Latvia.
Liberal B.C. MP Stephen Fuhr is the chair of the House of Commons defence committee, which recently completed a study of Canada's relationship with NATO. He said Canada shouldn't ignore the "aspirational" two per cent target entirely, but there are other ways to assess its contribution.
Liberal B.C. MP Stephen Fuhr, the chair of the Commons defence committee, says a singular focus on the 2 per cent of GDP figure doesn't give the whole picture of Canada's commitment to NATO. (Stephen Fuhr/Facebook)
"I understand the need to have a number there, you need to put a stake in the sand somewhere, but it doesn't tell the whole picture. There are better ways to assess who is actually contributing," the former fighter pilot said in an interview with CBC News on Wednesday.
"Greece maybe spends more than us, but does Greece show up every time? Is Greece investing in the capabilities that NATO actually needs? That matters."
(Almost three quarters of Greece's budget goes to paying salaries and pensions. In a country where unemployment is rampant, a career in the Greek military is highly sought-after. The Mediterranean country fails to meet other NATO spending targets for major equipment purchases, for example.)
"Every time there is a NATO mission, Canada looks at it and decides whether it's in the national interest to participate, and we have every time," Fuhr added.
"It's all about capability. The bigger question is, is Canada delivering? And I think the answer to that question is yes, including in Latvia, big time. Our history has shown that you can count on Canada to show up and pull its weight most of the time. The two per cent is just one of the ways you can look at it."
(CBC)
Fuhr noted that the government's defence strategy — a policy called Strong, Secure, Engaged, which was unveiled last year — includes a commitment to spend $47 billion in new money over 20 years, which will move Canada marginally higher up the list to about 1.45 per cent of GDP.
"That's a lot of money to put into the military. We're moving in the right direction," he said. Robertson said he has sympathy for the government's argument.
While Canada spends less than some, it has the best equipment interoperability in the alliance — meaning it's a reliable partner for the U.S. on missions abroad, he said.
Politics News
P&P: Does Trump have a point on NATO defence spending?
00:0001:40
U.S. President Donald Trump railed against #NATO allies today, demanding they increase defence spending "immediately." Does he have a point? Vassy Kapelos explains. 1:40
Only six of the 29 nations in the alliance can fully integrate with the U.S. in the air, on land, at sea and with the special forces.
A recent report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a leading Washington-based think tank, also sought to challenge the tunnel-vision focus on the two per cent target. The report, Counting Dollars or Measuring Value, suggested putting a greater emphasis on resources specifically "employed in the service of allied security" would be more useful.
"The almost singular focus on meeting the NATO pledge of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence obscures many of the true challenges to growing national and collective capability and to strengthened transatlantic security," the report reads.
Based on the think-tank's own assessment, Canada ranks fourth overall in NATO in terms of total commitment when you include troop levels on deployments to NATO missions, aid to support security operations abroad and the willingness of NATO members to accept refugees from conflict zones, among other benchmarks.
Conflating military spending with NATO commitments
Robertson said Trump also has conflated two issues central to the NATO spending debate. First, he said, the president's claim that the U.S. is "spending far more on NATO" than its allies is misleading.
Politics News
P&P: Does Trump deserve credit for the increase in defence spending by NATO allies?
00:0001:31
Former U.S. Amb. to NATO Ivo Daalder and former Canadian Amb. to NATO Yves Brodeur weigh in on whether Donald Trump's relentless attack on NATO allies over defence spending has been effective. 1:31
A country's total military spending includes its NATO responsibilities and everything else its military does, he said. According to the recent Commons report, Canada currently provides about 6.6 per cent of NATO's common-funded budgets, making it the sixth-largest financial contributor to that budget among the member states.
That's not to mention the 435 Canadian civilian and military personnel currently working in the NATO bureaucracy, a number that does not include personnel deployed to NATO operations or staff working within various NATO support agencies.
Several Canadians are also serving in high-ranking leadership positions within NATO, including Lt.-Gen. Christine Whitecross, the commandant of the NATO Defense College in Rome, and Lt.-Gen. Christian Juneau, who is the deputy commander of the Joint Forces Command in Naples.
Trump suggests NATO allies could double defence spending beyond 2014 pledge
U.S. leader kicks off 2-day summit by accusing Germany of being a 'captive of Russia' over energy deal
The Associated Press·
Combative Trump accuses Germany of pandering to Russia for energy
00:0003:21
'Germany is a captive of Russia,' says U.S. president at start of NATO meetings 3:21
U.S. President Donald Trump barrelled into a NATO summit Wednesday with claims that a natural gas pipeline deal has left Germany "totally controlled" and "captive to Russia" as he lobbed fresh complaints about allies'"delinquent" defence spending during the opening of what was expected to be a fraught two-day meeting.
Trump also suggested that NATO allies commit to spending four per cent of their gross domestic product on defence — double the current goal of two per cent by 2024.
The president, in a testy exchange with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg that kicked off his visit, took issue with the U.S. protecting Germany as it strikes deals with Russia.
"I have to say, I think it's very sad when Germany makes a massive oil and gas deal with Russia where we're supposed to be guarding against Russia," Trump said at a breakfast with Stoltenberg. "We're supposed to protect you against Russia but they're paying billions of dollars to Russia and I think that's very inappropriate."
Trump repeatedly described Germany as "captive to Russia" because of the energy deal and urged NATO to look into the issue.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed back firmly, insisting that Germany makes its own decisions and drawing on her own background growing up in communist East Germany behind the Iron Curtain.
Donald Trump, right, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met in Brussels after the U.S. leader publicly lambasted his country's longtime ally over its spending on national defence and a Russian oil pipeline. (Markus Schreiber/Associated Press)
"I've experienced myself a part of Germany controlled by the Soviet Union and I'm very happy today that we are united in freedom as the Federal Republic of Germany and can thus say that we can determine our own policies and make our own decisions and that's very good," she said.
The president appeared to be referring to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would bring gas from Russia to Germany's northeastern Baltic coast, bypassing Eastern European nations like Poland and Ukraine and doubling the amount of gas Russia can send directly to Germany. The vast undersea pipeline is opposed by the U.S. and some other EU members, who warn it could give Moscow greater leverage over Western Europe. It's expected to be online at the end of 2019.
Environmental-conscious Germany is trying to reduce its reliance on coal and is phasing out nuclear power by 2022, so it hopes to use natural gas to partially fill the gap until the country's electricity grid can cope with fluctuating levels provided by renewable energy. The alternatives, including U.S. supplies, are more expensive.
In their back-and-forth, Stoltenberg stressed to Trump that NATO members have been able to work together despite their differences. "I think that two world wars and the Cold War taught us that we are stronger together than apart," he told the president, trying to calm tensions.
'They will spend more'
Trump's dramatic exchange with Stoltenberg set the tone for what was already expected to be a tense day of meetings with leaders of the military alliance as Trump presses jittery NATO allies about their military spending ahead of his meeting next week with Putin.
"The United States is paying far too much and other countries are not paying enough, especially some. So we're going to have a meeting on that," Trump said, describing the situation as "disproportionate and not fair to the taxpayers of the United States."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, left, talks to U.S. President Donald Trump as British Prime Minister Theresa May, right watches at the opening ceremony of the NATO summit at NATO headquarters in Brussels. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
"They will spend more," he later predicted. "I have great confidence they'll be spending more." And with that, he went on to push allies at the summit to double their commitment on defence spending.
"During the president's remarks today at the NATO summit, he suggested that countries not only meet their commitment of two per cent of their GDP on defence spending, but that they increase it to four per cent," said White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders.
She said the president raised the same issue at NATO last year and that, "Trump wants to see our allies share more of the burden and at a very minimum meet their already stated obligations."
However, a formal summit declaration issued by the NATO leaders Wednesday reaffirmed their "unwavering commitment" to the two per cent pledge set in 2014 and made no reference to any effort to get to four per cent.
Trump's pipeline criticism was an unusual line of attack for a president who has proclaimed himself eager to improve relations with Russia's Vladimir Putin and dismissed the U.S. intelligence community's assessment that Russia tried to undermine Western democracy by meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to help Trump win. Trump has long argued that improving relations with Russia would be good for both nations.
Mixed reaction in U.S.
Back in the U.S., Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer issued a joint statement describing Trump's "brazen insults and denigration of one of America's most steadfast allies, Germany," as "an embarrassment."
"His behaviour this morning is another profoundly disturbing signal that the president is more loyal to President Putin than to our NATO allies," they wrote.
Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch also took issue with Trump, saying "I don't agree with that. Germans wouldn't agree with that. They are a very strong people."
But Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas and a strong supporter of the president, said the pipeline issue strikes at the "heart of NATO unity."
"The pipeline gets cheap Russian gas to Germany while bypassing smaller Eastern European nations, allowing Russia to pressure them while Germany is held harmless," he tweeted, adding: "No amount of preening in Berlin will cover this nakedly selfish policy."
Despite Trump's claims about Germany, Merkel served as a forceful advocate for imposing — and maintaining — sanctions on Russia after it annexed Crimea in 2014, arguing that it violated the principles of the international order established after the Second World War.
The president is also not the first leader to point to the impact of Nord Stream 2 on Europe, echoing complaints from Eastern European allies who note it would cut out transit countries such as Poland and Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump is greeted by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg before a bilateral breakfast ahead of the NATO Summit in Brussels. Trump took issue with the U.S. protecting Germany when the European nation is making deals with Russia. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Trump and Merkel met later Wednesday on the sidelines of the summit and kept their remarks polite during a photo opportunity with the press.
Trump told reporters the two had a "very, very good relationship" and congratulated Merkel on her "tremendous success." Asked if they had discussed the pipeline, he said they had, but declined to elaborate.
Merkel, for her part, called the two nations "good partners" and said "we wish to continue to co-operate in the future."
Trump then met with French President Emmanuel Macron, who said he disagreed with Trump's pipeline assessment. But the two appeared on good terms, with Trump joking about the fact that Macron had been asked about it.
Trump has long pushed NATO members to meet their agreed-to target of two per cent by 2024 and has accused those who don't of freeloading off the U.S.
What good is NATO if Germany is paying Russia billions of dollars for gas and energy? Why are there only 5 out of 29 countries that have met their commitment? The U.S. is paying for Europe’s protection, then loses billions on Trade. Must pay 2% of GDP IMMEDIATELY, not by 2025.
NATO estimates that 15 members, or just over half, will meet the benchmark by 2024 based on current trends.
Brussels is the first leg of a weeklong European tour that will include stops in London and Scotland, as well as a highly anticipated meeting next week with Putin.
Trudeau and Trump talk trade on NATO sidelines
Relations between Canada and the U.S. tense amid tariff war
Murray Brewster· CBC News· Posted: Jul 11, 2018 4:00 AM ET
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, middle, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, left, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland take part in North Atlantic Council Working Session at the NATO Summit in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday, July 11, 2018. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump met face-to-face today for the first time today since the disastrous G7 summit in Charlevoix, Que., last month.
Both leaders are in Brussels this week for North Atlantic Treaty Organization meetings. The Prime Minister's Office said Trump and Trudeau "had a conversation on the margins of the meetings today about trade, including NAFTA."
There are no other deliberate, structured bilateral meetings planned between the two leaders. "I look forward to having words with President Trump, having a conversation with him, as I always do," the prime minister told reporters Tuesday following a whirlwind visit to Latvia, where Canada has 455 troops deployed as part of NATO's Operation Reassurance.
Relations between Canada and the U.S. were dropped into a deep freeze following the imposition of steel and aluminum tariffs by the Trump administration — an action that triggered swift, sweeping countermeasures from the Liberal government.
Trump took Twitter swipes at Canada following the G7 summit — mostly over Canadian dairy policy— but reserved his most persistent and personal attacks for Trudeau himself, calling him "dishonest" and "weak" for telling the closing G7 news conference that Canada would not be "pushed around" on trade.
White House officials piled on, characterizing the prime minister as a back-stabber. Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro went as far as telling a U.S. talk show that there was "a special place in hell" for Trudeau, though he later walked back the remark.
The latest defence spending figures as a percentage of a country's gross domestic product (GDP), a measure used to determine the size of a country's economy. (CBC News)
Going into the NATO summit, Trudeau tried to present the appearance of business-as-usual for the alliance and insisted the lines of communication with Washington remain open.
"I speak with [Trump] fairly regularly and I look forward to seeing him again," he said. There's a big target, however, painted on Trudeau's back.
On his way to the summit, Trump fired off another Twitter volley: "Many countries in NATO, which we are expected to defend, are not only short of their current commitment of two per cent (which is low), but are also delinquent for many years in payments that have not been made. Will they reimburse the U.S.?"
NATO doesn't work that way, of course. Members don't pay dues, although they do contribute to common military and civilian programs — and Washington pays almost one-quarter of those costs. The formula is based on national income; no NATO ally is in arrears.
Trump does want NATO members to "pay up" and meet the two per cent benchmark the alliance has set as a defence spending target.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral breakfast at the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press)
Trudeau said Canada will not double its defence budget to get to that mark.
"It's an important metric, among others, to gauge how countries are doing in term of contributors to NATO," the prime minister said. "But ultimately the more important metrics are always … countries stepping up consistently with capacities that NATO needs."
And while in Brussels Wednesday, Trudeau announced that Canada will assume command of a new NATO training mission in Iraq that will include the deployment of up to 250 Canadian Armed Forces personnel for one year.
The troops will be deployed to Baghdad and the surrounding area, along with up to four Griffon helicopters to support NATO activities.
About the Author
Murray Brewster
Defence and security
Murray Brewster is senior defence writer for CBC News, based in Ottawa. He has covered the Canadian military and foreign policy from Parliament Hill for over a decade. Among other assignments, he spent a total of 15 months on the ground covering the Afghan war for The Canadian Press. Prior to that, he covered defence issues and politics for CP in Nova Scotia for 11 years and was bureau chief for Standard Broadcast News in Ottawa.
After the NATO Circus is over the CBC's propagandists keep pounding on the drums in support of Trudeau The Younger Yet Trump doesn't even notice much less care about our "Fake News" aka CNN North N'esy Pas?
"Woody Johnson, the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, dismissed the significance of the protests, telling Fox News that one of the reasons the two countries are so close "is because we have the freedoms that we've all fought for. And one of the freedoms we have is freedom of speech and the freedom to express your views. And I know that's valued very highly over here and people can disagree strongly and still go out to dinner." He also said meeting the Queen would be an experience Trump "will really cherish."
To quotes from a news rag owned by Murdoch after the Yankee Air Force One brought Trump and his three ring Circus over the channel for dinner with their Prime Minister.
Trump, who is making his first presidential visit to Britain, told the Sun newspaper he had advised May on how to conduct Brexit negotiations, "but she didn't listen to me."
"She should negotiate the best way she knows how. But it is too bad what is going on," the president said. "If they do a deal like that, we would be dealing with the European Union instead of dealing with the U.K., so it will probably kill the deal," Trump said.
He said "the deal she is striking is a much different deal than the one the people voted on.""In another blow to May, Trump said her now ex-foreign secretary "would be a great prime minister. I think he's got what it takes."
"Trump also said he doesn't feel welcome in London — and he blames that in part on the city's mayor, Sadiq Khan. Trump said that the tenor in London is part of why he's spending so little time in the city, saying, "I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London."
Khan gave protesters permission to fly the 20-foot-tall balloon depicting Trump as an angry baby in a diaper.
May and Trump are scheduled to hold talks and a joint news conference on Friday.
"POOF"Peter While
In the Liberal fantasy world, Canada is a major player and everyone breathlessly listens to every word form Trudeau.
In reality, Canada is a minor player, and the world media is completely disinterested in Trudeau's opinion about anything.
David R. Amos
@Peter While I agree with your opinion of the Liberal fantasy world ,However methinks no matter the colour of the coat of the dude in the PMO the Canadian banksters and certain corporations behind the scenes pulling the strings are very powerful
"POOF" russel Teagan
Trudeau was terrified of Trump.....
Troy Mann
@russel Teagan
Canadians cheering in Trump as he attacks our economy are pathetic
Michael Murphy
@Matt Thuaii The only criticism right wingers have is baseless
socks, hair, something something Soros
Neil Turv
@Michael Murphy
Closets, Orange Juice something something Koch...
Anyone who thinks any Canadian politician is 100% evil from any major party has the same level of credibility...which is zero.
David R. Amos
@Troy Mann Methinks the bureaucrats and pensioners cheering the big bonuses for Sinclair and his crew are pretty pathetic too. However at least if Trump causes the economy to take another nosedive we won't have to top up your pension investments like we did with liberal budget in 2009 N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Michael Murphy "The only criticism right wingers have is baseless"
Yea right I kinda sorta lean to the right and I don't talk about socks or hair but I do mention your hero Iggy and his latest boss Soros quite a bit. Methinks you talk just like a not so true dyed in the wool liberal Attorney General who just turned coat for some reason most folks will never understand If you are him you would never admit it N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Neil Turv Methinks everybody knows that after running for public office five times since 2004 I would have earned some level of credibility but it does not appear to be the case within the CBC domain. In fact I have not even been worth mentioning by CBC during five elections. Go Figure
I would never claim they are all 100% evil but no politician of the legions I have in countered in the USA and Canada have had the sand to uphold their understanding of such words as integrity or accountability.. I would dearly have loved to meet an ethical Canadian politician or one at least blessed with some semblance of a conscience and a little common sense in the past 15 years. In 2015 I had hopes that one would have finally surface when everyone had enough of Harper and I sued the Crown. Nobody dares to deny that Trudeau the Younger was mentioned in paragraph 83 of the Statement of Claim filed long before polling day or in the time since he became Prime Minister N'esy Pas?
"POOF" Steve Timmins
Hard to deny that the States are footing most of the bill.
Jacob Hobart
@Steve Timmins Starting most of the conflicts too...
David R. Amos
@Jacob Hobart "Starting most of the conflicts too..."
YUP
"POOF" kenny carter
Trump is the democratically elected leader of the USA, it appears Canadians have no respect for democracy when the results don't align with their ideological beliefs.
Adam Smith
@kenny carter
Personally, I rarely agree with any of Trump's policies, however disagreement is no reason to ignore the fact that Trump was democratically elected.
Sure, the electoral college system may be imperfect, but it doesn't take away the fact that many millions of people do agree with Trump's policies and ideas.
If you believe in democracy, then you believe that everyone should have an equal and equally valid voice in the politics - and that includes folks that you disagree with.
I think people need to be more respectful of those who don't share their personal views. Even those people whom I disagree with, I acknowledge that they likely have legitimate reasons for their views, and should never be simply dismissed outright.
David R. Amos
@kenny carter True but there is no democracy to respect.
Methinks the Yankees have a republic which some call a :"representative democracy" kinda similar to ours but we pretend to still have a mnarchy. However although Trudeau and Trump and all of their cohorts know what a true representative democracy is they prove they have no respect for it whatsoever when they whip their party members to vote as their leader orders them to. Basically we just elect temporary Kings and Trump and Trudeau both know it N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Adam Smith "Sure, the electoral college system may be imperfect,"
Methinks its votes are whipped as well N'esy Pas?
This thread went "POOF" while I was writing a reply so I recycled it
webster sinclair
@ NATO summit, the Trudeauian fact check meter has run aground
I fear for my country.
David R. Amos
@webster sinclair Have no fear. Methinks you should relax and enjoy the circus. We survived the mandates of Trudeau the Elder. Mulroney, Chretien, Martin and Harper. We will survive Trudeau The Younger's nonsense as well. I had respect for Joe Clark telling it like it was but his foes did not give him a chance like they did Harper with his first minority, Seems that old Joe taught us that honesty does not fly on the Hill and Harper learned that lesson well N'esy Pas?
"POOF" kenny carter
Is he on his way back to tender his resignation ?
Troy Mann
@Ryann everett
Like we did to Harper? He got beat so badly he quit politics all together lol
David R. Amos
@Troy Mann Methinks you should get over Harper, relax and enjoy the circus Mr Dress Up is providing us. We survived the mandates of Trudeau the Elder. Mulroney, Chretien, Martin and Harper. We will survive your hero Trudeau The Younger's nonsense as well. I had respect for Joe Clark telling it like it was but his foes did not give him a chance like they did Harper with his first minority, Seems that old Joe taught us that honesty does not fly on the Hill or in politics for that matter and Harper learned that lesson very well N'esy Pas?
"POOF" Pat Mosiuk
Trudeau translation "Of course, Mr. Trump. We will uphold our financial obligations to NATO!" Does anyone in the world believe a word that comes out of JT's mouth?
david mccaig
@Pat Mosiuk
SIX TIME BANKRUPT lecturing NATO countries on paying their NATO bill, how ridiculous.
Steve Cowell
@david mccaig No shame. The Trump advantage.
David R. Amos
@Steve Cowell I concur
"POOF" john parks
It is unfortunate for Canada that the liberal party has fully accepted dishonesty and lack of integrity from their leader
Paul Douglas
@john parks Their sole aim was to get rid of Harper. They don’t care that their leader is even worse. Partisan politics.
David R. Amos
@Paul Douglas Methinks that is the nature of the wicked game played by all organized political parties N'esy Pas?
Dwight Williams
Geez Trump can't open his mouth without embellishing.
You can't believe anything he says.
David R. Amos
@Dwight Williams "You can't believe anything he says"
Methinks the is no need to believe anything any of them say Just enjoy the Circus for what it is. After it is the "Greatest Show On Earth" and Trump did claim he would make America Great again. He just lied about how N'esy Pas?
Andrew Hebda (NS)
Looks like the usual "trash" the PM brigade are quick off the mark..
The take home from the Press conference is that Canada is committed to NATO and will support it in a number of ways ... That has been the Canadian approach since NATO was created...
David R. Amos
@Andrew Hebda (NS) Methinks not all Canadians agree with you 30 years or so after the Cold War has been a matter of history N'esy Pas?
Danny Tanker
Give 'em Hell Trudeau, you are chip off the 'ol block and won't take Trump's nonsense, he will be gone long before you will be.
ABC 2019
Peter Boone
@Danny Tanker - Mr. Grabby only has one more year left.
David R. Amos
@Danny Tanker Methinks the Fat Lady is far from ready to sing about 2019. Trust that Trudeau the Younger and his minions in the RCMP know my application to the Supreme Court is almost set to go now that the former Chief Justice has made her last judgement about law societies of all things and is off to Hong Kong while I prepare to file three more lawsuits and run for public office for the last time N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Peter Boone "Mr. Grabby only has one more year left."
Methinks everybody in the know knows why I enjoy that fact N'esy Pas?
If you don't just Google David Amos Federal Court then scroll down to statement number 83.
Jan Lenova
Only Conservative carpetbagger's cheer for Trump.
Jacob Hobart
@Jan Lenova ...and only bigots make generalizations.
David R. Amos
@Jacob Hobart True
Bernie Hunter
Canada needs water bombers to fight forest fires not military jets. NO more to defense, let Trump fix the battles US created themselves. Stay out, Canada!
Jacob Hobart
@Bernie Hunter Well said! We have our priorities in bad shape...
Serge Vivier
@Bernie Hunter In my opinion, you are100% correct
David R. Amos
@Bernie Hunter I wholeheartedly agree Sir
Keith Newcastle
If Justin knew/cared anything about defense he would have appointed Andrew Leslie, a retired LGEN with years of experience with the DND and CF systems, as minister. Instead he appointed Sajan, former CO of a small reserve regiment. We all know why.
Turner Jones
@Keith Newcastle He won the ar all by himself....just ask him.
Peter Hill
@Keith Newcastle You mean make someone not elected a Cabinet Minister? Why?
Norman Shankland
@Keith Newcastle There is no doubt Lt-Gen Leslie views on defence are taken into account. Nothing wrong with Sajjan unless you do not like Sikhs.
Keith Newcastle
@Peter Hill : Keep up. He is the serving MP for Orleans:
@Norman Shankland And his taking credit for something he didn't do.
Alex Norris
@Peter Hill
Cause they are QUALIFIED for the job. And not just a suitable visible minority so you look good to your base.
Keith Newcastle
@Peter Hill : Keep up. He is the serving MP for Orléans. Did you miss the election results?
Keith Newcastle
@Norman Shankland : "Nothing wrong with Sajjan unless you do not like Sikhs." Plenty wrong with choosing Sajan over Leslie regardless of whom you like.
David R. Amos
@Keith Newcastle YUP
Frank Iker
Who is threatening us that we need to do more spending on NATO? We help when called upon. Are we supposed to build an aircraft carrier just to meet Trumps demands? Stay the course JT.
Sally Grayson
@Sully Grayson
nice name!
Glenn Coco
@Sally Grayson nice photo!
Content disabled. David R. Amos
@Sally Grayson LOL
David R. Amos
@Sally Grayson You would not believe what was just blocked
David R. Amos
@Glenn Coco Methinks liberals like my dog in my photo more than they like me. They say he reminds them of their leader. I should feel insulted on behalf of my dog but they are correct. Anyway he does not care as he checks out the poodle next door and tries not to recall younger days. He does keep a good look out for ugly old Yankees with orange hair that he is supposed to bark at and warn me about but all the children and ladies can pass him by with nary a woof. from him. Just like his puppet masters I often say "Good Boy and take him on a trip now and then just like the liberals do N'esy Pas?
Harold Cooper The CBC's propagandists have been pushing this notion for a couple of months now that the EU and Canada should just sever all ties with the US. Why hasn't it happened? Because it's exactly like Trump says it is. NATO and the UN is only in existence because the US has been picking up a large majority of the tab.
Look at the numbers lol. NATO needs the US more than the US needs NATO.
So regardless of what this media or any Clinton-biased media claims, the cheapskates who are more interested in welcoming the third world into their countries (The ones who are coincidentally only paying half of the GDP) so they can keep that Marxist dream alive, will be met with a lot of hostility from neighboring countries if the US walks with their funding.
Can it be done? Why not? The last time I checked, China, who is swimming in cash isn't part of any Joint-Military Union.
David R. Amos
@Harold Cooper Methinks I read different stuff in CBC about Trump Canada and the UN N'esy Pas?
@richard bishop Russia is leading the charge on that one while China plays Russia into doing all the heavy lifting.
Believe me, you'll never see Chinese boots land in the Middle East.
richard bishop
@Harold Cooper Some say they are already there, although CBC, doesn't allow links to sites that may confirm it.
Content disabled.
David R. Amos
@richard bishop Methinks CBC blocks way too many comments that offer links to their own articles N'esy Pas?
Content disabled.
David R. Amos
@David R. Amos I know I am talking to myself but methinks its a waste of precious time waiting for moderators to allow my comment or not then looking for a response than never comes before the thread is buried by newer comments. Its best to quit the tread and go to supper so that these dudes can argue among themselves without having to ignore me anymore N'esy Pas?
Trump's claim that NATO will boost defence spending disputed
French president says allies confirmed intention to meet 2% goal by 2024 and no more
The Associated Press· Posted: Jul 12, 2018 3:44 AM ET
1986 Comments Commenting is now closed for this story.
David R. Amos Hopefully sooner or later somebody ethical within NATO will read this N'esy Pas?
Statement of Claim Federal Court of Canada File # T-1557-15
A portion of Statement # 83
83. The Plaintiff states that now that Canada is involved in more war in Iraq again it did not serve Canadian interests and reputation to allow Barry Winters to publish the following words three times over five years after he began his bragging:
Friday, October 3, 2014
Little David Amos’ “True History Of War” Canadian Airstrikes And
Stupid Justin Trudeau
Canada’s and Canadians free ride is over. Canada can no longer hide
behind Amerka’s and NATO’s skirts.
When I was still in Canadian Forces then Prime Minister Jean Chretien actually committed the Canadian Army to deploy in the second campaign in Iraq, the Coalition of the Willing. This was against or contrary to the wisdom or advice of those of us Canadian officers that were involved in the initial planning phases of that operation. There were significant concern in our planning cell, and NDHQ about of the dearth of concern for operational guidance, direction, and forces for operations after the initial occupation of Iraq. At the “last minute” Prime Minister Chretien and the Liberal government changed its mind. The Canadian government told our amerkan cousins that we would not deploy combat troops for the Iraq campaign, but would deploy a Canadian Battle Group to Afghanistan, enabling our amerkan cousins to redeploy troops from there to Iraq. The PMO’s thinking that it was less costly to deploy Canadian Forces to Afghanistan than Iraq. But alas no one seems to remind the Liberals of Prime Minister Chretien’s then grossly incorrect assumption.
Content disabled. David R. Amos
Sooner or later somebody in NATO will read this N'esy Pas?
Statement of Claim Federal Court of Canada File # T-1557-15
A portion of Statement # 83
83. The Plaintiff states that now that Canada is involved in more war in Iraq again it did not serve Canadian interests and reputation to allow Barry Winters to publish the following words three times over five years after he began his bragging:
Friday, October 3, 2014
Little David Amos’ “True History Of War” Canadian Airstrikes And
Stupid Justin Trudeau
Canada’s and Canadians free ride is over. Canada can no longer hide
behind Amerka’s and NATO’s skirts.
When I was still in Canadian Forces then Prime Minister Jean Chretien actually committed the Canadian Army to deploy in the second campaign in Iraq, the Coalition of the Willing. This was against or contrary to the wisdom or advice of those of us Canadian officers that were involved in the initial planning phases of that operation. There were significant concern in our planning cell, and NDHQ about of the dearth of concern for operational guidance, direction, and forces for operations after the initial occupation of Iraq. At the “last minute” Prime Minister Chretien and the Liberal government changed its mind. The Canadian government told our amerkan cousins that we would not deploy combat troops for the Iraq campaign, but would deploy a Canadian Battle Group to Afghanistan, enabling our amerkan cousins to redeploy troops from there to Iraq. The PMO’s thinking that it was less costly to deploy Canadian Forces to Afghanistan than Iraq. But alas no one seems to remind the Liberals of Prime Minister Chretien’s then grossly incorrect assumption.
Nigel Marshall
The question has to be asked: do Trump's comments about a soft Brexit and Boris Johnson's qualifications as a Prime Minister qualify as Russian interference in British elections?
David R. Amos
@Nigel Marshall Methinks Mr Mueller and his fellow lawyer buddies such as Little Jimmy Comey, Loretta Lynch, Lisa Page, the Clintons and Prez Obama would like to think so N'esy Pas?
David James
Ah, yes. The great London "anti-Trump" protest. One would hope grown adults would have had more pressing issues to deal with rather than bang on pots and dancing around an inflated Trump doll.
David R. Amos
@David James Methinks you ran off and hid under a rock in the other comment section However my replies are still there in the most liked comment section No sense in my being redundant N'esy Pas?
President Trump is 100% correct in his latest assertion. Canadians tend to exist within their Utopia without fully understanding their obligation to NATO. Quite simply folks, Canada has a duty to pay her fair share of military spending. Either this or remove ourselves from the NATO alliance for good. Period!
David R. Amos
@David James President Trump is 100% correct in his latest assertion.
Oh My My don't you sound just like an old foe of mine? Methinks I could not count the number of folks commenting within the the CBC domain that disagree with you. Perhaps you should read all my comments in the the "Most Liked" thread above before you attempt to argue me N'esy Pas?
David James
@David R. Amos
Odd. I did indeed check your history and I didn't see too many "likes" accrued there either. N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@David James Methinks I should feel honoured that you don't like me however you won't dare to argue me will ya N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@David James Methinks you already know my Father was a Mason as were many sons of the Keith Clan. However what you may not know is that a good friend of mine was a 32nd Degree Mason. i know both ghosts would affirm that the Chief of the Amos Clan does not follow anyone's orders and maintains his oath to his Clan "Veritas Vincit"so to speak N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@David James "I served in Canada's military, have you?"
Ya like military history EH? Well I never served but I was accepted to St Jean in 1970 without having to finish my finals in High School but opted not to go because they would not allow me to learn to fly jets at the same time because they were trimming down the armed forces and cutting corners under the Liberals remember?
My Father definitely served the British Crown as did legions of my relatives going way back through time and not all survived. my Father's plane went down in WW II. He was the soul survivor out 9 men in that crash. He was too pigheaded to die hence I would not be typing this right now. He did name me after his friend David Hornell (look him up sometime) who was killed on my Mother's birthday in 1944 two weeks after her favourite brother Raymond was killed in Normandy. I was given his name as well Need I say I have felt honoured to be named after such men my whole life?. You should be so lucky N'esy Pas?
BTW my 32nd Degree Yankee buddy flew a B29 over Tokyo. He did some impressive flying getting his shot up bomber and the survivors of his crew back to the base on Tenian while being wounded as well. i bet you are wondering who he was. Well a clue for you would be he had two very famous forefathers. One of them my forefather Daniel Keith fought against hundreds of years ago. Check History.
Trudeau insists Canada spending enough on defence, as Trump declares victory at NATO
Canada's PM reacts to Trump saying he convinced NATO allies to increase contributions
CBC News· Posted: Jul 12, 2018 7:16 AM ET
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference Thursday that Canada has reaffirmed its commitment to work toward contributing two per cent of its GDP to military spending and reverse any cuts. His comments came at the end of a two-day NATO summit in Brussels, where U.S. President Donald Trump instead said that he convinced the military alliance to dramatically hike spending. (Olivier Matthys/Associated Press)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada hasn't committed to spending new money on defence, despite U.S. President Donald Trump's comments that he convinced NATO allies to dramatically hike spending.
Instead, Trudeau said at the wrap of the summit in Brussels that Canada has reaffirmed its commitment to work toward contributing two per cent of its gross domestic product to military spending — the military alliance's benchmark —and reverse any cuts.
Trudeau said Canada has been "taking the right approach" on defence spending, pointing to the Liberals' plans to increase the defence budget by 70 per cent over the next decade to $32.7 billion. "The president has been consistent that he wants to see people spending more on defence in their countries and we are very pleased we are doing that," Trudeau told reporters.
"We'll always step up, with cash yes but also with commitments and capacity. That's what NATO is looking for."
Trudeau sidesteps NATO spending questions by media
00:0002:03
Numbers not in line with U.S. president's earlier statement about an increase to 2% GDP by 2024 2:03
Trudeau went into the summit saying Canada was not prepared to double its defence budget to meet the NATO target.
New figures released by the military alliance just ahead of the summit show Canada only hits 1.23 per cent of GDP.
Trump said Thursday he had convinced NATO allies to increase defence spending to meet the alliance's benchmark and perhaps go higher.
He spoke at the closing of the two-day summit, which was punctuated with insults, arguments and high drama behind closed doors.
"It all came together in the end," Trump said.
He went into the meeting questioning the value of the 70-year-old institution, but came out extolling its solidarity and the willingness of leaders to co-operate, work together and bow to his wishes.
Trump pushes for 4% benchmark
Trump claimed he had done what other presidents had failed to do by pushing leaders to agree to higher spending.
By all indications, the morning session of NATO leaders from 29 nations was stormy.
Trump upended the meeting Wednesday by insisting all members increase their military spending this year to two per cent of their GDP — a standard established 16 years ago but rarely met by most of NATO, including Canada.
Trump upped the ante late Wednesday by saying the benchmark should actually be four per cent. Behind closed doors, Trump apparently went further Thursday.
Trump touts successful NATO summit
00:0001:50
Takes credit for membership agreeing to increase defence spending by 2% of GDP 1:50
It was enough for NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to call a quick emergency session of leaders.
"The commitment was at two per cent. Ultimately that'll be going up much higher," Trump said without providing many specifics.
He said Stoltenberg will provide the figures later.
"We are doing numbers like they have never done before," Trump said.
Germany's pipeline deal questioned
The U.S. president had tweeted Wednesday that he wondered about the value of NATO when one of its biggest members — Germany — was involved in a major pipeline deal with Russia.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump talk on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Brussels, Belgium on July 11, 2018. (Yves Herman/Reuters)
Some U.S. commentators suggested Trump is focusing his attention on the $11-billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline deal to deflect criticism that he is too cozy with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump, however, is not alone in questioning the deal.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said there are significant Western sanctions against Russia for a reason.
"Canada believes in those sanctions," she said Wednesday.
"Those sanctions will and need to stay in place as long as Russia's illegal actions remain in force. When it comes to Nord Stream, Canada has significant concerns about that project."
On Wednesday, the prime minister held an "informal" chat with Trump, in what a Trudeau aide described as a positive talk focused on trade, the ongoing NAFTA renegotiations, and how the recent election of Mexico's new left-leaning populist president might impact those negotiations.
(CBC)
With files from The Canadian Press and CBC's Murray Brewster
Trump's claim that NATO will boost defence spending disputed
French president says allies confirmed intention to meet 2% goal by 2024 and no more
The Associated Press·
'I believe in NATO,' U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters as two days of talks with leaders of the military alliance ended in Brussels. (Reinhard Krause/Reuters)
U.S. President Donald Trump closed out his chaotic two-day visit to NATO Thursday by declaring victory, claiming that member nations caved to his demands to significantly increase defence spending and reaffirming his commitment to the alliance.
But there were no immediate specifics on what Trump said he had achieved, and French President Emmanuel Macron quickly disputed Trump's claim that NATO allies have agreed to boost defence spending beyond two per cent of gross domestic product.
"The United States' commitment to NATO remains very strong," Trump told reporters at a surprise news conference following an emergency session of NATO members held to address his reported threats to withdraw from the alliance.
Trump had spent his time in Brussels berating members of the military alliance for failing to spend enough of their money on defence, accusing Europe of freeloading off the U.S. and raising doubts about whether he would come to members' defence if they were attacked.
Trump said he made his anger clear to allies on Wednesday.
Leaders from NATO member and partner states met for a two-day summit, overshadowed by strong demands by Trump for most NATO member countries to spend more on defence. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
"Yesterday I let them know that I was extremely unhappy with what was happening," Trump said, adding that, in response, European countries agreed to up their spending.
"They have substantially upped their commitment and now we're very happy and have a very, very powerful, very, very strong NATO," he said.
Trump did not specify which countries had committed to what, and it remained unclear whether any had changed their plans. He seemed to suggest a speeded-up timeline, saying nations would be "spending at a much faster clip," which if it panned out would mark a significant milestone for the alliance.
Trump touts successful NATO summit
00:0001:50
Takes credit for membership agreeing to increase defence spending by 2% of GDP 1:50
"Some are at two per cent, others have agreed definitely to go to two per cent, and some are going back to get the approval, and which they will get to go to two per cent," he said.
U.S. leaders for decades have pushed NATO allies to spend more on defence in an effort to more equitably share the burden in the mutual-defence organization.
NATO countries in 2014 committed to move toward spending two per cent of their gross domestic products on defence within 10 years. NATO has estimated that only 15 members, or just over half, will meet the benchmark by 2024 based on current trends.
"We committed in the declaration yesterday to the [2014] Wales agreement — and you can triple-check the wording in that — which moves us toward two per cent and mostly importantly reverses the decline in military spending that happened across NATO allies, including in Canada under the previous government," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a closing news conference.
Macron, in his own news conference, seemed to reject Trump's claim that NATO powers had agreed to increases beyond previous targets. He said the allies had confirmed their intention to meet the goal of two per cent by 2024 and no more.
The emergency session came amid reports that Trump had threatened to leave the pact if allies didn't immediately up their spending, but officials said no explicit threat was made.
"President Trump never at any moment, either in public or in private, threatened to withdraw from NATO," Macron said.
Trump had taken an aggressive tone during the NATO summit, questioning the value of an alliance that has defined decades of American foreign policy, torching an ally and proposing a massive increase in European defence spending.
Trump keeps up pressure
Earlier Thursday, Trump called out U.S. allies on Twitter, saying, "Presidents have been trying unsuccessfully for years to get Germany and other rich NATO Nations to pay more toward their protection from Russia."
He complained the United States "pays tens of Billions of Dollars too much to subsidize Europe" and demanded that member nations meet their pledge to spend 2 percent of GDP on defence, which "must ultimately go to 4%!"
Under fire for his warm embrace of Russia's Vladimir Putin, Trump on Wednesday also turned a harsh spotlight on Germany's own ties to Russia, alleging that a natural gas pipeline venture with Moscow has left Angela Merkel's government "totally controlled" and "captive" to Russia.
He continued the attack Thursday, complaining that "Germany just started paying Russia, the country they want protection from, Billions of Dollars for their Energy needs coming out of a new pipeline from Russia."
"Not acceptable!" he railed before arriving late at NATO headquarters for morning meetings with the leaders of Azerbaijan, Romania, Ukraine and Georgia.
Combative Trump accuses Germany of pandering to Russia for energy
00:0003:21
'Germany is a captive of Russia,' says U.S. president at start of NATO meetings 3:21
During the trip, Trump questioned the necessity of the alliance that formed a bulwark against Soviet aggression, tweeting after a day of contentious meetings: "What good is NATO if Germany is paying Russia billions of dollars for gas and energy?"
Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany, shot back that she had "experienced myself a part of Germany controlled by the Soviet Union, and I'm very happy today that we are united in freedom as the Federal Republic of Germany and can thus say that we can determine our own policies and make our own decisions and that's very good."
Trump tweeted that NATO countries "Must pay 2% of GDP IMMEDIATELY, not by 2025" and then rattled them further by privately suggesting member nations should spend 4 percent of their gross domestic product on defence — a bigger share than even the United States currently pays, according to NATO statistics.
Still, Trump has been more conciliatory behind the scenes, including at a leaders' dinner Wednesday. "I have to tell you that the atmosphere last night at dinner was very open, was very constructive and it was very positive," Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, the president of Croatia, told reporters.
U.K. urges unity to engage Russia
Amid the tumult, British Prime Minister Theresa May, whose government is in turmoil over her plans for exiting the European Union, sounded a call for solidarity among allies.
A series of steel fences surround the U.S. ambassador's residence in London, where Donald Trump will spend the night Thursday. On Friday, the U.S. president will have lunch with Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, then tea with the Queen at Windsor Castle before flying off to one of his golf clubs in Scotland. (Luca Bruno/Associated Press)
"As we engage Russia we must do so from a position of unity and strength — holding out hope for a better future, but also clear and unwavering on where Russia needs to change its behaviour for this to become a reality," she said.
On Wednesday, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said there are significant Western sanctions against Russia for a reason.
Trump blames Brexit on immigration
00:0000:45
'They agree with me on immigration and I think that's why you have Brexit in the first place,' says U.S. president 0:45
"Canada believes in those sanctions. Those sanctions will and need to stay in place as long as Russia's illegal actions remain in force. When it comes to Nord Stream, Canada has significant concerns about that project."
Trump to meet with Queen
Trump next headed to the United Kingdom on Thursday. Although Trump administration officials point to the longstanding alliance between the United States and the United Kingdom, Trump's itinerary in England will largely keep him out of central London, where significant protests are expected.
The National
Why the British protests of Trump are not surprising
00:0003:25
The National takes a look at how U.S. relations with the U.K. have gotten frosty since Trump took office. 3:25
Instead, a series of events — a black-tie dinner with business leaders, a meeting with May and an audience with the Queen — will happen outside the bustling city, where Mayor Sadiq Khan has been in a verbal battle with Trump.
Woody Johnson, the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, dismissed the significance of the protests, telling Fox News that one of the reasons the two countries are so close "is because we have the freedoms that we've all fought for. And one of the freedoms we have is freedom of speech and the freedom to express your views. And I know that's valued very highly over here and people can disagree strongly and still go out to dinner."
He also said meeting the Queen would be an experience Trump "will really cherish."
Trump brings his chaotic road show to Britain, blasts U.K. PM and London mayor
U.S. president met by both pomp and protest as U.K. visit begins
The Associated Press·
1446 Comments
David R. Amos
Methinks CBC a comment section on this topic a day late N'esy Pas?
Trump brings his chaotic road show to Britain, blasts U.K. PM and London mayor
U.S. president met by both pomp and protest as U.K. visit begins
The Associated Press·
U.S. President Donald Trump, right, stands with British Prime Minister Theresa May, left, at her country residence, Chequers, in Buckinghamshire, England on Friday. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press)
N.B. Premier Gallant calls for unified First Ministers front as trade battle with U.S. heats up
Premiers to meet in New Brunswick next week for annual gathering
Elise von Scheel· CBC News· Posted: Jul 13, 2018 4:00 AM ET
242 Comments
Don Cameron
Perhaps the trade dispute with the States will provide the impetus for the provinces to break down the trade barriers that exist between the provinces.
Kinda crazy that these exist at all in this day and age.
David R. Amos
@Don Cameron Methinks Mr Gallant ain't fooling anyone particularly the other Premiers N'esy Pas?
Brad Little
This is the same premier that took the cross-border booze battle to the supreme court, right?
Dan Armitage
@Brad Little yup turncoat
David R. Amos
@Brad Little YUP
David R. Amos
@Dan Armitage Oh dear say it ain't so
Charles Beale
And Premier Gallant, while you're at it, tell the others premiers to push for removing barriers to interprovincial trade, eh?
David R. Amos
@Charles Beale Doug Ford Will Bring 'Buck-a-Beer' Back to Ontario. Why not down here too? Methinks it would be interesting if he sent few truckloads down here next week for his fellow Premiers to enjoy N'esy Pas?
Jerry jordan
if you want a unified country by all the premiers to take on the states during the phantom trade war, then start by dropping all the trade barriers that exist in Canada within our own provincial borders. there is no unity if each and every province has something to protect.
David R. Amos
@Jerry jordan Trust that the other Premiers don't give a hoot about trading with New Brunswick. Methinks that we don't have anything they want N'esy Pas?
carl boben
Lol isn't this the province who fined a guy for buying beer in Qc recently? These jokers can't even get inter provincial trade sorted out, but want to fight the good fight internationally?? Here's a tip for Mr. Gallant, clean up your own backyard before you go knocking on your neighbors door!
Art Rowe
@carl boben Right on! I think that the only thing all provinces could ever agree on is that they want more money from the federal government. Other than that, each is way too self centered about just how everything affects THEM. NB isn't in the oil export business and AB produces no maple syrup. This sort of reminds me of the peace talks about Vietnam and trying to agree on the shape of the table.
David R. Amos
@Art Rowe "I think that the only thing all provinces could ever agree on is that they want more money from the federal government."
Me Too
Gil Murray
New Brunswick giving economic advice to anyone is ridiculous. NB has not been able to balance its books since forever and they won't even allow you to buy booze in Quebec and bring it back. NB is truly stuck in the dark ages with leadership fit for those centuries. Only ever worried about patronage and language.
Roland Godin
@Gil Murray Language is it the over used U$ians basic English dialect which has mostly replaced the UK English language, limiting the development of cognitive rationality and discernment...et voilà.
Gil Murray
@Roland Godin Sure, whatever you said. I don't care.
David R. Amos
@Gil Murray Therein lies the rub. Nobody does. However methinks we should N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Gil Murray "New Brunswick giving economic advice to anyone is ridiculous."
Methinks most folks agree with you N'esy Pas?
Ernie Zimmerman
The sooner canada is rid of trudeau and the trudeau government the better canada will be. Until that happens, canada will be in rough shape.
Elaine Hancock
@Rosco holt Can you please explain how the Conservatives are a ‘Reform’ party? Also what is wrong with ‘reform’?
Rosco holt
@Elaine Hancock
The conservative party died when the PC and reform joined. Highly religious, warp ideology and their vision is similar to the republicans.
Darcy Wells
@Gordon MacFarlane No, the reform party is exactly like the republicans and they bought out the conservatives from Mackay with a promise a cushy ministerial position.
There are no conservatives in the federal running. Reformists and CDN alliance... that is the only alternative we have to the liberals and NDP.
None are a good choice at this point but I would vote NDP or LIB before voting for these regressives.
Rosco holt
@Darryl Smith The US might be going well now, but Trump has started a global trade war. In which most countries target republican held states with tariffs of their own.
Harley Davidson is the first to fall and other will follow.
David R. Amos
@Rosco holt "The conservative party died when the PC and reform joined."
YUP
David R. Amos
@Elaine Hancock Methinks the list would be shorter if you informed us what is right about it N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Darcy Wells "No, the reform party is exactly like the republicans and they bought out the conservatives from Mackay with a promise a cushy ministerial position"
Methinks many would agree that the Reform Party was even further to the right than the GOP N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Rosco holt "Harley Davidson is the first to fall and other will follow."
Methinks Polaris aka Indian is setting up a factory overseas as well N'esy Pas?
Manny Fredrick
I can't imagine a worse handling of the economy than by this Trudeau government. Even if they had done nothing it would be better than it is now.
norman duck
@Manny Fredrick What do you mean they done nothing , Trudeau has been instigating a fight with Trump since day one and now Canadians will have to pay for it . Please someone tell me I am wrong
Ian Smyth
@norman duck I'm laughing at how ridiculous your statements are right now lol
David R. Amos
@Ian Smyth "I'm laughing at how ridiculous your statements are right now lol"
Methinks the political people who understand the wicked game would be laughing at all of you if they bothered to read this comment thread N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@norman duck "Please someone tell me I am wrong"
Welcome to the Circus
Werin Johnson
Given Trudeau has done nothing but divide us as a country I think you should start with him.
David R. Amos
@Werin Johnson "Given Trudeau has done nothing but divide us as a country"
Methinks your hero Harper did the same All you have to do is read the other comments to see that is true N'esy Pas?
Terry R Avante
Half of NB shops over the border because they cannot afford the cost of duality and eat too.
David R. Amos
@Terry R Avante Methinks there is a lot of truth said in jest N'esy Pas?
N.B. Premier Gallant calls for unified First Ministers front as trade battle with U.S. heats up
Premiers to meet in New Brunswick next week for annual gathering
Elise von Scheel· CBC News· Posted: Jul 13, 2018 4:00 AM ET
New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant will be hosting the upcoming premiers meeting. (Ben Silcox/CBC)
Despite the conflicting policy views held by some of Canada's premiers, New Brunswick's Premier Brian Gallant is urging them to remain united as Canada faces an onslaught of trade challenges from the U.S.
Tensions between the provinces have been high in the past year — especially out west, where British Columbia and Alberta have been feuding over a thwarted expansion project for the Trans Mountain pipeline. Ottawa ended up buying the pipeline from Kinder Morgan for $4.5 billion.
Gallant, who is hosting next week's annual premiers meeting in New Brunswick, said he fully expects that topic to come up, along with the perennial irritant of interprovincial trade.
No matter what the dividing issues are this year, however, he said he's hoping all premiers keep an open mind.
"I think it's going to be very important as premiers to be as united as possible," he told CBC Radio's The House on Wednesday.
"There's a lot more that binds us together than divides us."
Remaining cohesive is key, given the trade war percolating between Canada and the U.S., Gallant said. "Trade in all of its aspects will be top of mind next week."
Canada moved forward at the beginning of the month with $16 billion in tariffs against our southern neighbour — retaliation for U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imposed a month before.
Gallant is advocating a "quicker" approach to getting an interprovincial free trade agreement up and running and said he expects his counterparts will agree, given the sour atmosphere hanging over trade talks with the U.S.
Equalization on the table — unofficially
International and interprovincial trade aren't the only topics that have been causing friction in the federation lately.
The federal government has been under fire recently for renewing the existing equalization formula for another five years despite strong objections from some provinces. The extension kicks in next year.
Equalization, which is based on a highly complex formula, is designed to help poorer provincial governments provide public services that are reasonably comparable to those in other provinces.
Saskatchewan has expressed its displeasure with the federal government's methods for calculating equalization payments and its government has suggested an alternative plan.
Premier Scott Moe made a formal request to add equalization to the meeting's agenda, Gallant said, but that schedule was solidified weeks ago.
He told guest host Katie Simpson he'd invited Moe to bring it up in the open portion of the meeting. The premiers will be in St. Andrews, N.B., from July 18-20.
The LIEbrano Propaganda Machine is still working overtime deleting and editing comment sections in order to make Trudeau The Younger and his minions Appear To Be Ethical N'esy Pas? Compare our records
'Not Canadian': Hussen, MacLeod exchange sharp words over asylum seeker 'crisis'
Ontario's immigration language is 'irresponsible, divisive ... fearmongering,' says Hussen
Peter Zimonjic· CBC News· Posted: Jul 13, 2018 5:23 PM ET
2166 Comments
"POOF" George Hancock
I don't think we need someone from Somalia lecturing us on what is and what is not Canadian.
em tae
@George Hancock
Lets discuss this further George...what is YOUR defiinition of Canadian then because i want to see if i fit into your mold so that i can join the discussion. Can i join the club George? Let me know
Gerry Ferguson
@George Hancock well said
George Hobbs
@em tae We have regular Canadians and irregular Canadians.
David R. Amos
@George Hancock "I don't think we need someone from Somalia lecturing us on what is and what is not Canadian."
CBC allows you to post this but blocks my words? Methinks everybody knows why this Cooment thread was put into an email and sent to Trudeau the Younger the lawyer Ahmed Hussen in a heartbeat N'esy Pas?
Thank you for contacting the Parliamentary Office of the Hon. Ahmed Hussen. Please be advised your matter will be dealt with promptly or forwarded to the respective office/department. Please be advised for all Immigration, Refugee, Citizenship Canada related matters it is best to contact your Member of Parliament first. If you're unaware who your M.P. is please use this link:
Merci d’avoir communiqué avec le bureau parlementaire de l’honorable Ahmed Hussen. Soyez assuré que votre message sera traité ou transmis au bureau ou ministère concerné dans les meilleurs délais. Veuillez noter que pour toutes questions concernant Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada, il est préférable de communiquer d’abord avec votre député. Si vous ne savez pas qui est votre député, veuillez utiliser le lien suivant:
Nous vous remercions pour votre intérêt, bonne journée.
---------- Original message ---------- From: Premier of Ontario | Premier ministre de l’Ontario <Premier@ontario.ca> Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2018 04:25:44 +0000 Subject: Automatic reply: YO PM Trudeau the Younger need I say I have had my fill of CBC and your Propaganda? To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Thank you for your email. Your thoughts, comments and input are greatly valued.
You can be assured that all emails and letters are carefully read, reviewed and taken into consideration.
There may be occasions when, given the issues you have raised and the need to address them effectively, we will forward a copy of your correspondence to the appropriate government official. Accordingly, a response may take several business days.
Thanks again for your email. ______
Merci pour votre courriel. Nous vous sommes très reconnaissants de nous avoir fait part de vos idées, commentaires et observations.
Nous tenons à vous assurer que nous lisons attentivement et prenons en considération tous les courriels et lettres que nous recevons.
Dans certains cas, nous transmettrons votre message au ministère responsable afin que les questions soulevées puissent être traitées de la manière la plus efficace possible. En conséquence, plusieurs jours ouvrables pourraient s’écouler avant que nous puissions vous répondre.
Merci encore pour votre courriel.
"POOF"
William Ben
Mr Hussein is out of step with Canadians but in lock step with Trudeau’s post national nation agenda.
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David R. Amos
@William Ben Methinks everybody knows that Minister Ahmed Hussen is just another sneaky liberal lawyer to me. I know for a fact he has failed to make me understand how these people coming from the USA can seek asylum here when they are already in a country that should already be dealing with them fairly byway of the same international obligations that Canada agreed to. I bet many more Canadians agree with me rather than Hussien's rhetoric on the topic Correct? I suspect that its a very rare soul who leaves Canada to seek asylum in the USA when we threat the immigrant folks so well. However I as a Canadian citizen I had to battle the my government tooth and nail for years to secure my CPP and old age benefits. In fact I sued the Crown about another issue before it finally gave me my first CPP dime back. Then I threaten to sue it again to secure my old age benefits before the Crown did the right thing by me at the very last minute before I filed . Trust that the lawyer Hussein and all his cohorts have never answered a single one of my questions on any topic. However they won't have parliamentary immunity forever and everybody knows that I love to sue lawyers Nesy Pas?
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David R. Amos
@David R. Amos Methinks CBC is gonna regret blocking that comment come Monday morning or my name ain't "Just Dave" N'esy Pas?
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David R. Amos
@William Ben Imagine if a well known liberal or conservative had replied to your comment with a true statement on topic and CBC blocked it. What do you think would happen next?
"POOF" Alexandra Northe
Calling a fellow Canadian un- Canadian is as un-Canadian as you can get.
Karin Bougie
@Alexandra Northe
Precisely.
Marie Price
@Alexandra Northe Not when you have Trumpish bullies calling our own Minister unCanadian.
Claire Davis
@Marie Price
I don’t care about Trump. Sorry.
Alexandra Northe
@Claire Davis Nor I.
Alexandra Northe
@Marie Price We’re talking about Canadians right now. Last I checked, Trump is American. So I’m not sure if he has anything at all to do with this. At all.
Karin Bougie
@Marie Price How on earth does Trump enter this conversation?
LiAngelo Fisher
@Alexandra Northe
Liberals love accusing others and labelling them as racists, sexists, bigots, xenophobes, deplorables, un-Canadian... the list goes on. It's all they do.
David R. Amos
@Alexandra Northe "Calling a fellow Canadian un- Canadian is as un-Canadian as you can get."
I agree. Methinks only a rather desperate lawyer would try that nonsense on a fellow Cabinet Minister and a Lady at that. Seems that Trudeau the Younger is never around when he is needed N'esy Pas?
Gordon MacFarlane
@Karin Bougie
The same way Harper usually does
In an obvious and desperate attempt to tie a can around the Conservatives.
Thankfully most Canadians are smart enough to see it for the greasy political thingy that it is
Troy Mann
@Gordon MacFarlane
And people who are fleeing for their lives are the pawns in this.
Canadians I know open up their hearts to the weak and vulnerable, protect them from tyranny and ultimate death.
I think we can help people and it's silly to say we will go broke by helping these people. They are coming here because they fear being anywhere else.
David R. Amos
@LiAngelo Fisher "Liberals love accusing others"
i agree just look at the names they call me within CBC and elsewhere on the Internet. Methinks its just because I ran against them five times and had the nerve to sue the Crown before Trudeau The Younger won his big mandate and his lawyers were not wise enough to side with me before polling day 2015 Well we are already half way through 2018 N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Troy Mann Methinks the liberal spin doctors and their lawyers wish to forget the fact that these people are "fleeing' from the oh so great USA which has the very same international obligations that Canada signed on to N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Gordon MacFarlane "Thankfully most Canadians are smart enough to see it for the greasy political thingy that it is"
Methinks most folks don't give a damn Hence we get the governments we deserve N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Karin Bougie "How on earth does Trump enter this conversation?'
Methinks many political people would agree that its just desperate liberal spin doctors doing desperate things N'esy Pas?
"POOF" William Ben
Having an opposing view in a democracy is not un-Canadian, it is very much Canadian Mr Hussein you are terribly wrong in your assessment.
Ginny Boots
@William Ben -Nope. Not when that view is ....I’m not going to say it
Jason Tremblay (JasonDiggy)
@William Ben
Next you rightists will be arguing that marching with tiki torches is as Canadian as a Canada Day parade.
Keith Laughton
@Jason Tremblay (JasonDiggy)
Please provide your definition on Canadian values so we can see if it has anything of value to add to the discussion on the article.
Regards,
William Carver
@Jason Tremblay (JasonDiggy)
I march daily with them. Well only during mosquito season, and I'm planning on enjoying the backyard.
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David R. Amos
@Jason Tremblay (JasonDiggy) "Next you rightists will be arguing that marching with tiki torches is as Canadian as a Canada Day parade."
How long do you think your comments will last?
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David R. Amos
@Ginny Boots "Nope. Not when that view is ....I’m not going to say it"
Methinks only liberals are allowed to reply even if their comments make no sense whatsoever N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Keith Laughton Well put
David R. Amos
@William Carver Methinks tikis may be remembered fondly non political types too. No doubt a few old folks would agree that naked tiki dancing was fun around a bonfire under a full moon in our youth. Many old liberal immigrants from the sixties and seventies some were just hippies and many were Yankee draft dodgers just like an old liberal lawyer I love to hate know exactly what I am talking about. Now as I recall tiki dancing I bet that all the old Yankee immigrants can think about is their pensions etc and whether or not they should go to Florida this winter because of Trump and FATCA etc. At least if the must stay home their latest fearless leader Trudeau The Younger has succeeded in making their dope smoking legal soon N'esy Pas?
Steve Thomson
@Jason Tremblay (JasonDiggy) The only Canadian value is freedom . And that includes freedom from the predations of left wing fascists and their big governments .
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David R. Amos
@Steve Thomson Oh my how many of your comments made it by the left wing moderators thus far? Methinks I should just give up trying to post anything. After watching a couple of entire comment threads go "Poof" l will wager that lots of others folks must be pissed at CBC too So much for Friday the 13th Need I say Shame on CBC? Oh I already said that but nobody will read it at least in here anyway N'esy Pas?
Floyd Robertson
@William Ben
Kelly Leitch, is that you?
David R. Amos
@Floyd Robertson Methinks you are the one playing the name game in CBC contrary to the rules N'esy Pas?
"POOF" George Abbott
Hussen has lots of money for asylum seekers but no money for the monthly disability pensions for Canadian veterans. Puzzling?
David R. Amos
@George Abbott As a Canadian senior born and raised and a former small business man I had to fight tooth and nail to no avail then threaten to sue the Crown in order to get my CPP and my old age benefits. Methinks my monthly stipend is a lot less than what the liberals are giving these so called "Asylum Seekers" N'esy Pas?
"POOF" Patrick Ko
funny how people not born in Canada are calling Canadian born citizens "un-Canadian"
BobbyTaylor
@Patrick Ko - to thr liberals, unCanadian is anyone who disagrees with the liberals. Sometimes I think Trudeau is shocked that anyone would disagree with him.
David R. Amos
@BobbyTaylor Methinks Trudeau The Younger is to thick to be shocked by anything but he sure can cry crocodile tears at the drop of a hat N'esy Pas?
Bert Law
This government is wrong on so many levels.
Their repeated talking points based on ideological entitled ego driven fantasies are purely embarrassing.
As hussen himself has said last year, if you are not coming into the country through the proper controlled crossings....you are here illegally.
David R. Amos
@Bert Law Methinks many would agree that the rules are irrelevant to the liberals and the conservatives as well N'esy Pas?
Patrick Ko
So called "asylum seekers' are nothing of the sort, as they cross the border from the USA. They don't need asylum from America.
David R. Amos
@Patrick Ko "They don't need asylum from America."
True
Methinks everybody knows it excepting of course Trudeau the Younger and his mindless minions N'esy Pas?
Jim Smith
In fairness to the Ontario P.C. government and the minister, the high-ended way that Hussen chose to play this is exactly what gives people like Donald Trump traction.
David R. Amos
@Jim Smith I concur
David James
Well fellow CANADIANS, I hope you will remember the insolence of this federal minister and his Trudeau Liberal cohorts come 2019.
Leslie Ward
@David James Educate yourself, Ford and his minister clearly do not know the law and lie about it.
Peter While
@Leslie Ward - Canada is under no obligation to accept migrants coming from another country that is deemed safe.
David R. Amos
@David James Methinks I will remember you when I debate my political opponents this summer N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Peter While True
David R. Amos
@Leslie Ward False
Richard Dekkar
Only one of the 2 was actually born in Canada and she is most certainly Canadian.
Federico Pena
They are both Canadian. What's your point?
Richard Riel
@Federico Pena I would have said un-Canadian.
Steven Scott
@Richard Dekkar Macleod immigrated here there are no Scot Clans indigenous to Canada .....
Michael Brown
@Steven Scott That "there are no Scot Clans indigenous to Canada" does not mean she immigrated here.
Chris Young
@Michael Brown If she did, she didn't walk across the boarder.
Keith Laughton
@Michael Brown
In your opinion, when did migration stop and immigration begin?
Regards,
William Carver
@Steven Scott
and those that migrated cross the Bering Straight land bridge?
David R. Amos
@William Carver What of the Vikings?
David R. Amos
@David R. Amos Methinks the Vikings would never allow a liberal on their boats N'esy Pas?
William Carver
@David R. Amos ;)
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David R. Amos
@Steven Scott "Macleod immigrated here there are no Scot Clans indigenous to Canada"
Methinks that many of my Scottish forefathers had Viking blood coursing through their veins N'esy Pas?
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David R. Amos
@Michael Brown "there are no Scot Clans indigenous to Canada"
Methinks you overlooked one Clan in particular N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Keith Laughton "In your opinion, when did migration stop and immigration begin?"
In my humble opinion many Loyalists began their migration up here in 1776 about 20 years after Wolfe and Montcalm killed each other settling who controlled the turf N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Richard Riel What do you say of Louis Riel and his Metis pals? Were they un-Canadian or byway of being of mixed blood more Canadian than most folks?
David R. Amos
@Keith Laughton I know for a fact some of my Scottish kin did not migrate or immigrate here. They assisted the British to take the county by force of arms. Afterwards some marred French ladies others married indigenous ones.
David R. Amos
@Federico Pena My point is we are a well mixed crowd but Canadians all the same. That said. In my humble opinion the liberal lawyer quoted in this article has no class whatsoever. He certainly does not speak on my behalf as a Cabinet Minister. Be he be born here or not he is still just another snobby liberal lawyer to me. I know for a fact that that lawyer nor any other liberal or conservative or NDP or BLOC or the Green Party leader would never ever dare to even same my name in public just like the CBC people were never allowed to until the elections were over. N'esy Pas?
I was never a Conservative until Justin and his Liberal Party of Canada proved who they really are by using the nation's population to push their social agenda which is going to cripple us.
Sunny ways!!
George Hobbs
@steve jackson SUNNI ways IS their social agenda.
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David R. Amos
@George Hobbs Tut Tut Tut
David R. Amos
@George Hobbs HMMMM
Charles Farley
Hussen is an absolute failure. He has done nothing to stop the ILLEGAL border crossing that is occurring. All he wants to do is throw taxpayer money at them once they have crossed the border. He should be fired.
David R. Amos
@Charles Farley YUP
Don Cameron
Hussen doesn't get to decide who and what is 'unCanadian'.
Asylum seekers illegally entering Canada is a 'made in Ottawa' problem. Just more arrogance from a minister of the Trudeau Liberals.
David R. Amos
@Don Cameron YUP
John Spartan
If someone with the name of Mr. Hussein called me un-Canadian I wouldn't be too concerned.
Unless my uncontrollable laughing caused me to wet myself or choke.
Jeramy Keest
@John Spartan is canadian-ness predicated on having the right kind of name?
Pat Smith
@Jeramy Keest Nothing to do with a name. For someone who was not born in Canada (i.e. Hussein) to call a Canadian-born person "un-Canadian" is laughable.
em tae
@Pat Smith
do you have to be born in Canada to be Canadian by your definition?
David R. Amos
@Pat Smith Methinks if the snobby lawyer's name were Smith it would still be insulting to most folks particularly the French political dudes from Quebec named Trudeau or Chretien or the ones down in the Maritimes named Leblanc or Gallant etc N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@em tae Methinks a lot of folks would doubt that is your real names as per CBC's rules N'esy Pas?
Grace King
I agree with our Ontario minister 100% ! Mr Premier of Ontario is keeping his promises and I praise HIM for it. Please respect us the voters who voted and spoke !!! Mr Ford you are doing the GREAT JOB in ONTARIO! Thanks.
Otto Wevers
"HIM" is usually referencing a diety like god. Scary thought if people think ford is now godlike.
David R. Amos
@Otto Wevers Be Afraid Very Afraid
'Not Canadian': Hussen, MacLeod exchange sharp words over asylum seeker 'crisis'
Ontario's immigration language is 'irresponsible, divisive ... fearmongering,' says Hussen
Peter Zimonjic· CBC News·
Lisa MacLeod, Ontario's minister responsible for women's issues and minister of children, community and social services, left, and federal Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen exchanged sharp words Friday over Ontario's demand that Ottawa pick up more of the costs associated with irregular border-crossers. (Canadian Press photos)
A meeting between Canada's federal and provincial immigration ministers ended bitterly Friday, with federal Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen openly criticizing the Ontario government for what he called a dangerous and un-Canadian approach to the issue of asylum seekers.
"They've chosen to use false language with respect to so-called queue-jumping, when we have told them over and over again there is no such thing," Hussen told reporters in Winnipeg at the closing press conference.
"Asylum seekers are processed in a separate queue at the IRB and all the other regular immigration programs are processed by IRCC, and conflating the two knowingly is irresponsible, it's divisive, it's fearmongering and it's not Canadian, and it's very dangerous."
Hussen criticized Ontario's Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Lisa MacLeod — who is also responsible for the immigration file — for walking away from discussions between the other immigration ministers and for refusing to sign the official communique issued after the meetings.
MacLeod did not take the attack lightly, telling reporters after Hussen left the podium that it was the federal minister who did not want to collaborate on the issue of irregular migration.
"I am not going to get into a debate on semantics with the minister," she said, "but I did request that he take into consideration these exorbitant costs which ... is about $174 million on top of the $3 million that Ontario provided to the Red Cross.
"I was expecting that we would be able to collaborate on that. Instead, what I saw here today was ... him calling me un-Canadian, which I take great offence to. And I so hope he will apologize and reconsider his language.
"There is a problem at the border, the border must be enforced and ... Ontario should be made whole for all of the costs that we've incurred."
A broad discussion
The ministers did speak about asylum seekers from the U.S. crossing the border into Canada irregularly, but they also met to discuss economic immigration, francophone immigration, settlement and integration and how to attract new workers to Canada, Hussen said.
"So we talked about all those issues, but unfortunately Ontario has chosen to walk away from the table. They have failed their municipalities because they are saying they do not have anything to do with this," he said. "The fact is that temporary housing and housing issues are a shared responsibility and we have to work together, and we are committed to working together.
"I've spoken to Mayor (John) Tory of Toronto and I have told him that the government of Canada will have the backs of all municipalities affected by this and we will be there for Ontario."
Hussen said the number of irregular border crossers has fallen steadily over the past several months. According to official numbers published Friday, the number of irregular migrants crossing the border to claim asylum has gone from 2,560 in April, to 1,869 in May and 1,263 in June.
Federal dollars needed
MacLeod wasn't the only one who didn't sign the communique released after the ministerial meeting. Saskatchewan's Jeremy Harrison, the minister responsible for immigration in that province, also kept his name off it.
"It is the Government of Saskatchewan's position that the government of Canada fully fund supports for asylum seekers that have arisen from recent federal policy decisions," Harrison said in a statement.
"The Government of Saskatchewan also calls on the Government of Canada to fully fund health, social assistance and employment supports for asylum seekers and recently arrived government-assisted-refugees."
MacLeod said her province supports refugees but she is concerned she will not have enough funds to meet housing, health and other demands for asylum seekers without federal help.
"I have a large provincial ministry to run that includes children with autism, it includes children in care, it includes women fleeing domestic violence, It includes human trafficking," she said.
"It keeps me up at night when I think of the resources that I have to expend elsewhere and I can't help those people as well. I am simply asking them to fix the problems that they have created with their federal policies."
Hussen told Canada's premiers that "the government of Canada will have your back" on backstopping the resources needed to deal with the spike in the number of asylum seekers arriving at unofficial border crossing points between Canada and the U.S.
He said $50 million has been set aside for that and the money will begin flowing at the end of the month. In the meantime, he said, Canada is obligated to adhere to the law.
"On the issue of calling these people illegal," Hussen said, "asylum seekers have a legal right, and Canada has signed international obligations ... we have the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
"Once someone is on Canadian soil and claims asylum, we have an obligation domestically and internationally to grant them a fair hearing."
Hussen said the Ontario government's suggestion that irregular border crossers are illegal serves to demonize them in the eyes of other newcomers and Canadians at large.
"I can assure you on behalf of Canadians I will fight back against that narrative of fear with facts."
'Stars are aligning' for Putin before Trump summit — indictments notwithstanding
'I'm sure Putin is thrilled,' expert says after Justice Department indicts 12 Russians for election hacking
Matt Kwong· CBC News· Posted: Jul 14, 2018 4:00 AM ET
2716 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
John Mann
The video Putin has of Trump must be really damaging.
Floyd Robertson
@John Mann
He probably even has his tax returns.
Fred Ashlton
@Floyd Robertson He certainly has the emails from Hillary's server
Mike Martin
@Fred Ashlton He also has the emails from Trump and Trump's gang, as well as emails from the RNC servers. Plus a lot of Trump financial info that is confined to Russian banks. I suspect Trump is less concerned about the pp tape than about what an examination of his dealings with Russian "financiers" would reveal.
Jim Gammon
@Fred Ashlton Everyone has the emails from Hillary's server.
David R. Amos
@John Mann Dream on
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David R. Amos
@Jim Gammon "Everyone has the emails from Hillary's server"
Therein lies the rub for the mindless Yankee Justice Dept.
Eli Sunday
Mueller sure is catching a lot of witches on this little hunt.
Dave Baston
@Eli Sunday He hasn't produced a single confirmed case of Russian anything.
Dennis St.Amand
@Eli Sunday yup, so-called witch hunt has now racked up well over a hundred criminal charges so far.
Jim Gammon
@Dennis St.Amand Why hasn't General Flynn been sentenced yet then?
Paul Bigras
@Eli Sunday
26 of then are from Russia. Manafort is being kept in solitary confinement for not registering as a foreign agent and paying his taxes in 2005. Hes in solitary confinement for tax evasion.
General Mike Flynn apparently lied to the FBI but Comey said that he didn`t. Mike is waiting to be sentenced but its being held up.
At the end of the day both Manafort and Flynn will walk and will be pardoned by Trump. No offence buit maybe you should bone up on this matter.
Paul Bigras
@Jim Gammon
The new judge in the case did not like the way Muellers team ran rough shod over Flynn and is going over the case. Muellers team bankrupted Flynn and he only cut a deal because then were going to go after his son.
Richard Nichols
@Jim Gammon
He has been spewing what he has so there is no sentence. Where have you been?
Richard Nichols
@Paul Bigras
trump appointed judge, Paul?
mia stalling
@Jim Gammon he is cooperating with the prosecution ( telling all he knows) to lighten his sentence.
Scotty Davidson
@Eli Sunday I am still waiting for him to find the WMD's he kept talking about in the lead up to the Iraq war. Funny the new hero's of the "left".
David Scott
@Scotty Davidson We do like honesty how about you on the right not so much?
Kevin Delaney
@Eli Sunday Team Trump & their Putin Team St Petersburg allies posting on this article are not happy with that.
John Dirlik
@Eli Sunday
True. But just as deserving of scrutiny is the influence of another country, vividly demonstrated every election by the surreal spectacle of candidates jostling to prove who is more loyal to it.
Kevin Delaney
@John Dirlik The spectacle televised from Washington late last week was televised insanity. How the US Republican Party can take such profound action against their nation is beyond belief.
Scotty Davidson
@David Scott Wow so I was opposed to the Iraq war and that makes me a right winger...what?
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David R. Amos
@Scotty Davidson Methinks the left wingnuts are awfully confused as they try to create spin that makes sense out of the Circus N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Eli Sunday Methinks anyone can name 12 Russians It does not follow that they are witches N'esy Pas?
Richard Baumann
Trump is in his glory. His face and, more importantly, his name are plastered on the front page of every major newspaper in the world. He's promoting his brand and really doesn't care what impact that has on the US or any other country.
Floyd Robertson
@Richard Baumann
If it's any consolation, at least his golf course in Scotland is going under, his clothes manufactured in China line is going under, and Ivanka has been pulled from the Bay.
David R. Amos
@Richard Baumann "Trump is in his glory."
YUP The BS form all sides of this circus is entertaining if nothing else and I agree the incredibly narcissistic Mr Trump really doesn't care about the US or any other country or anyone or anything for that matter. The fact that he is so popular astounds me but I enjoy watching the corporate media squirm at all the Circuses he causes on a daily basis. They seem to forget they created the monster they call The Donald.
Joe Attard
Trump expects his performance review with his boss to go well.
Jim Palmer
@Joe Attard
Yep; time for The Puppet's periodic check in with The Puppet Master just to make sure that everything is still 'on track'.
David R. Amos
@Jim Palmer Methinks all the right wingnuts are be blocked tonight N'esy Pas?
Don Luft
Why shouldn't he say Putin will be the easiest of all. Putin is about the only world leader not in Trump's cross hairs. Trump is running the Oval Office as if Putin himself had picked the American president. Actually, he probably did.
Fred Ashlton
@Don Luft and she lost
David R. Amos
@Fred Ashlton YUP
Joe Green
Trump needs to report to his boss, and get new marching orders, having done great damage to NATO.
Putin's next step is to get Trump to withdraw all troops from Europe and South Korea and Japan.
Its the prelude to a Russian invasion. Not unlike Crimea, but with fewer troops.
Gord McPherson
@Dave Baston
Russia most certainly did send troops in to the Crimea Peninsula. On February 27, 2014, those troops took, by force, the Supreme Council of Crimea.
This was followed by the installation of a puppet government and the holding of a "referendum"; a fixed referendum.
The puppet government declared independence, which was nearly instantly turned into nothing like independence as Russia incorporated Crimea into the Russian Federation two days later.
Crimea was both invaded and annexed.
Dave Baston
@Gord McPherson There was no installation of a puppet or any other government in Crimea ahead of its 2014 referendum. There was only a single person replaced in Crimea's government, and that was the puppet of Kiev that was forcefully placed there to report to Kiev on any attempts by Crimea's government to organize a referendum.
Kiev's puppet was replaced according the Crimea's laws, with a vote being taken by Crimea's government, with that vote receiving unanimous approval from Crimea's government.
Subsequently, Crimea's government organized the referendum that they and the Crimean people were calling for, and had been calling for going back decades. It took constant forceful effort and manipulation by the Ukrainian government to keep Crimea in Ukraine all that time - and forcefully installing a non-elected puppet on Crimea's Supreme Council was one of the measure Kiev had taken.
No honest person can claim that Crimea was invaded or annexed. Both claims are ridiculous and deceitful.
John Dunn
@Dave Baston Is that Bastonski?
Keith Burton
@Dave Baston Reminds me of the CBC reporter, during Russian take over of Crimea, saying there are numerous Russian Navy ships in the Black Sea. Surprise, surprise someone should have told the reporter they have been there for a long time.
Dave Baston
@Keith Burton Yup. Russia's large navy base, with many large Russian military ships docked at, was in Crimea the entire time that Crimea was a part of Ukraine.
Dave Baston
@Joe Green
Huh? What invasion was there of Crimea? Russia didn't send any troops into Crimea and didn't have to because Russia was already there. Russia has always had their Black Sea naval base on the Crimean peninsula - including while Crimea was a part of Ukraine. Russia was allowed up to 25,000 troops on the Crimean peninsula.
Also, former Ukraine's last-acting head-of-state officially requested Russia to enter militarily into Ukraine to stop the coup. Russia didn't do this. However, even if Russia had entered militarily into Ukraine and gone all the way to Kiev and thrown out the coup government that was not constitutionally sanctioned, it would not have been an invasion.
Russia hasn't invaded any country while Putin as been its president. Meanwhile, the USA has invaded Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and fostered coups in many more.
Dave Baston
@Joe Green Also, from the article: "He appeared reluctant last month to rule out recognizing Russia's annexation of Crimea, responding to a question about whether Russia would drop its longstanding opposition to the annexation by saying: "We're going to have to see."" It looks like "Russia" is written there the second time when it's supposed to read "United States".
Also, there has been no annexation of Crimea, and the international community no longer holds that view. The assertion that Crimea was annexed by Russia was US / NATO / Ukraine propaganda, and was revealed to be false over time. Now, most of the international community does not regard Crimea as occupied by Russia, as demonstrated by the December 2017 UNGC vote on the matter, where 102 out of 172 UN member states refused to support a resolution calling Crimea an occupied territory.
An annexation is the forceful taking of one territory by another. An accession is the mutually agreed-to combining of one territory with another. Crimea acceded to Russia, and was not annexed. And as all Western polls of the region since have shown, Crimeans are overjoyed with their reunification with Russia.
David R. Amos
@Dave Baston I concur
Floyd Robertson
The fact that Trump isn't even taking the indictments seriously shows what an absolutely terrible POTUS he is. If he were a Democrat POTUS and behaved this way he would be impeached already.
Gary Norton
@Floyd Robertson Since it all took place before he became POTUS and he has mentioned some of the question need to be answered by the people in charge what would you suggest he do
Floyd Robertson
@Gary Norton
Cancel the meeting with Putin.
Gary Norton
@Floyd Robertson Why? Maybe a discussion can shed some light. It can't do any damage. You can not change history, only the future.
Dave Baston
@Floyd Robertson I think Trump's not taking them seriously (if that's the case) would rather be because there is no cause to take them seriously at this moment. Mueller previous made 13 indictments against Russians, and then panicked when those Russians appeared in US court to defend themselves. Mueller then asked the judge for permission to withhold his evidence, and to delay the trial, and then he excused himself from the case.
So, why would these new indictments (made against Russian officials who conveniently wouldn't go to the US anyway) merit being taken more seriously? By all appearances, they're show charges for a kangaroo court.
mike potter
@Gary Norton It can't do any damage. That sems to be tRump's M.O. i.e. do as much damage as possible.
Floyd Robertson
@Dave Baston
It's not just Mueller ---it's the entire US intelligence community. Only someone who is morally bankrupt and/or in Putin's back pocket would not take these charges seriously.
David R. Amos
@Floyd Robertson Heres a tip about your hero Mueller and US Special Counsels etc. Google following find the pdf file called Cross Border and go through pages 1 to 5 then you may wish to keep reading
so, donnie, can ya tell the audience how happy the residents of Aberdeenshire were to see ya!
David R. Amos
@mo bennett YO Mo doya think anyone would even notice if you landed in Aberdeenshire? Methinks not N'esy Pas?
Jim S Powers
almost all leaders or bosses have a briefing of the facts before a big meeting I feel Trump just phones FOX gets their view and facts and heads to the meeting
Igor Nordham
@Alfred Morris "Try usinging facts instead of feelings."
Actually the comment is fact based. Trump has gone off on an unhinged Twitter tirade based on a dubious Fox story.
David R. Amos
@Jim S Powers "I feel Trump just phones FOX gets their view and facts and heads to the meeting"
Methinks all the folks at CNN et al agree with you N'esy Pas?
Jim S Powers
bet he won't show up late like he has for other world leaders.
Brent Grywinski
@Jim S Powers You don't show up for a meeting with the boss late.
David R. Amos
@Brent Grywinski I always did because I was the boss.
Trump sets expectations 'low' for summit with Putin
Kremlin says talks 'will be difficult' because of 'disagreements' between leaders
The Associated Press·
'I think we go into that meeting not looking for so much,' U.S. President Donald Trump, left, Trump told reporters last week, when asked about his talks in Helsinki with Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, on Monday. (Mikhail Klimentyev/AFP/Getty Images)
U.S. President Donald Trump says "nothing bad ... maybe some good" will come out of his summit Monday with Russia's Vladimir Putin in Finland, while the Kremlin says the meeting "will be difficult" because of "the extent of the disagreements" between the leaders.
When asked in a television interview, "What's your goal from the Putin meeting?" Trump said he's going into it with "low expectations. I'm not going with high expectations."
He told CBS News that he "hadn't thought" about asking Putin to extradite the dozen Russian military intelligence officers indicted this past week in Washington on charges related to the hacking of Democratic targets in the 2016 U.S. election, but said that "certainly I'll be asking about it."
But in tweets published as he flew to Finland for the meeting, Trump also claimed that no matter what the summit achieves, he'll face "criticism that it wasn't good enough."
"If I was given the great city of Moscow as retribution for all of the sins and evils committed by Russia over the years, I would return to criticism that it wasn't good enough — that I should have gotten Saint Petersburg in addition!" he tweeted.
He seemed to blame the media for this, repeating a notion he has expressed since his early days in office that "much of our news media is indeed the enemy of the people."
WATCH: President Trump tells @jeffglor that he is going into the Helsinki summit with "low expectations" and that he will consider asking Russia to extradite agents indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. More on @FaceTheNation Sunday. https://cbsn.ws/2Lg6ZkR
The Kremlin has said the talks between Putin and Trump will be tough.
"They will be difficult and you know the extent of the disagreements on the agenda," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week, according to Russian official news agency TASS.
'Unstructured' meeting
Trump and Putin will meet one-on-one, with no clear agenda, no advisers and no cameras. The United States is not seeking "concrete deliverables" from the Trump-Putin meeting, a senior White House adviser said on Sunday.
"We have asked, and the Russians have agreed, that it will be basically unstructured. We are not looking for concrete deliverables," White House national security adviser, John Bolton, told ABC's This Week in an interview.
People in Helsinki attend the pro-human rights 'Helsinki Calling' protest on Sunday, ahead of Monday's meeting between U.S. President Trump and Russian President Putin. (Leonhard Foeger/Reuters)
In recent days, Trump has outlined some of the items he'd like to discuss, including Ukraine. Though the president has said he was "not happy" about Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, he puts the blame on his predecessor, Barack Obama, and says he will continue relations with Putin even if Moscow refuses to return the peninsula.
Trump says he believes such get-togethers are beneficial. In the CBS interview, he cited his historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June as "a good thing" and says "having meetings with Russia, China, North Korea, I believe in it."
The U.S. president taped the CBS interview Saturday in Scotland, a day before he was set to leave for Helsinki for the summit. CBS released excerpts on Sunday.
Can't force Russia to extradite
On the issue of the 12 Russian agents indicted in the U.S. this week, a potential hurdle to their extradition is that Washington has no extradition treaty with Moscow and can't compel Russia to hand over citizens, and a provision in Russia's constitution prohibits extraditing its citizens to foreign countries.
Trump is blaming the Democratic National Committee for "allowing themselves to be hacked."
Samuli Huuhtanen, the CEO of craft brewery Paper Rock Scissors, came up with a new brew and summit logo, 'Let's settle this like adults.' The beer is sold out throughout Finland. (Susan Ormiston/CBC)
Trump also said he and Putin would discuss the ongoing war in Syria and arms control, negotiations that White House officials have signalled could be fruitful.
But it is the matter of election meddling, including fears Russia could try to interfere in the midterm U.S. elections this fall, that could play a central role in the summit talks or loom even larger if not addressed.
In neither of Trump's previous meetings with Putin — informal talks on the sidelines of summits last year in Germany and Vietnam — did the U.S. president publicly upbraid the Russian leader, prompting questions about whether he believed the former KGB officer's denials that his intelligence agencies engaged in meddling.
With files from Reuters and CBC News
'Stars are aligning' for Putin before Trump summit — indictments notwithstanding
'I'm sure Putin is thrilled,' expert says after Justice Department indicts 12 Russians for election hacking
Matt Kwong· CBC News· Posted: Jul 14, 2018 4:00 AM ET
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam in November 2017. (Mikhail Klimentyev /AFP/Getty Images)
With only three days to go before the U.S.-Russia presidential summit, the stunning indictments Friday of 12 Russian intelligence officers — charged with interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election — could easily have been enough to make the U.S. cancel it.
In any past U.S. presidency, that might have been the case. Not so for Trump, say Eurasia scholars and former diplomats familiar with Russian propaganda efforts.
The Kremlin, rushing out a statement Friday, slammed the announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice as an attempt to "spoil" the atmosphere ahead of President Donald Trump's face-to-face with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
It needn't have worried.
Following chaotic stops in Brussels and the U.K., where Trump's criticisms of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and British Prime Minister Theresa May seemed to weaken a historic alliance, experts say the chief beneficiary of the turmoil is Putin.
"I'm sure Putin is thrilled. And [the indictments] won't make a difference," said Alexandra Vacroux, director of Harvard University's Davis Centre for Russian and Eurasian Studies.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, at a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, announces grand jury indictments of 12 Russian intelligence officers in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. (Leah Millis/Reuters)
"I think any other American president would cancel the summit and say, 'No — with this evidence, it's clear they did do something; and unless I have guarantees this will never happen again, we won't meet.'"
Instead, Trump, who was briefed by his Justice Department about the indictments, will press ahead with Monday's meeting with Putin in Helsinki.
Once in Finland, he will have the opportunity to confront Putin on Russia's annexation of Crimea; to debate sanctions relief for Russia; to broker a New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) treaty expiring in 2021 between the nations to commit to mutual nuclear arms reduction; and to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to NATO.
In the U.K. on Friday, Trump told reporters he will "absolutely ask" Putin in person about Russian meddling as well. But Trump has also previously said he takes Putin at his word, believing his claim that the Kremlin played no role in hacking into the 2016 election.
On Saturday, Trump tweeted that the indictments "had nothing to do with the Trump administration." That's in direct contradiction to Trump's own intelligence community and the Justice Department.
These Russian individuals did their work during the Obama years. Why didn’t Obama do something about it? Because he thought Crooked Hillary Clinton would win, that’s why. Had nothing to do with the Trump Administration, but Fake News doesn’t want to report the truth, as usual!
Friday's announcement revealed the indictments of a dozen Russians with the GRU military intelligence unit in special counsel Robert Mueller's probe. It alleged the Russians hacked into the Democratic National Committee to undermine the election, and compromised the voting data of 500,000 Americans.
Putin is likely 'thrilled' by recent developments following Trump's chaotic week at a NATO summit and visit to the U.K. (RIA Novosti/Reuters)
Chances are slim the Russian defendants will end up in U.S. court. Russia is highly unlikely to extradite them.
"For Putin, this is like the stars are aligning," given how the last week has unfolded for Trump in Europe, said Brett Bruen, who led an inter-agency task force in the Obama administration to combat Russian propaganda.
He points to Trump's thrashing of what he called "delinquent" NATO members and demands for the alliance to increase defence spending, lest the U.S. begin to roll back on its commitments.
"That diluted the standing of the most important strategic alliance for security in the world."
And when the president left the NATO meetings in Brussels for the U.K., only to criticize British Prime Minister Theresa May's handling of Brexit, Bruen said, "he diminished the stature of America's most important strategic ally in the world."
"If I was trying to write a script for how Putin could set up the summit with Trump for maximum impact on Russia's strategic objectives, I don't think I could have done a better job than what Trump has accomplished."
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and Trump walk away after holding a joint news conference at Chequers, the official country residence of the prime minister, near Aylesbury on Friday. (Hannah McKay/Reuters)
Experts warn that Trump has already hinted at possible concessions with Putin. He appeared reluctant last month to rule out recognizing Russia's annexation of Crimea, responding to a question about whether the U.S. would drop its longstanding opposition to the annexation by saying: "We're going to have to see."
Legitimizing it would raise alarms in Baltic states like Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, about possible Russian incursions.
I'm not sure what it gets the U.S., apart from extreme anxiety about what happens in that room.- Alexandra Vacroux , Harvard University
Bruen is skeptical Trump will be able to achieve much, beyond hyping that the summit materialized and that Putin gave him a symbolic gesture of goodwill. But merely bringing up the topic of Russian election meddling sounds like a "weak way of checking a box without applying pressure," he said.
"My fear is this is really our last opportunity, before we head into the congressional elections, to get Putin and his propagandists out of our electoral process. I have little confidence the president is going to grow a backbone overnight on this."
If last month's Singapore summit between Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un was any indicator, he added, there's reason to worry.
While the Trump-Kim summit was billed by the administration as a possible advancement toward denuclearization, satellite images suggest Pyongyang is continuing to develop a nuclear research site and missile facility.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, watches as Trump speaks to other leaders posing for the family photo at the Park of the Cinquantenaire during the NATO Summit in Brussels July 11. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Adding to the anxiety for next week's Trump-Putin sessions is that the private sitdowns will be without note-takers or advisers present: only translators.
"It does look like this meeting has the potential to get Putin quite a lot," Vacroux said. "I'm not sure what it gets the U.S., apart from extreme anxiety about what happens in that room."
As far as Russian election tampering goes, she says the U.S. is missing a concrete geopolitical "grand strategy" to halt Russia's interference in future U.S. elections, beyond "patching holes in cybersecurity."
Unless the president delivers "a serious message with serious consequences," Bruen said, he can expect the Russians to continue developing ways to undermine U.S. elections.
While Friday's indictment didn't allege any co-ordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, "timing seems like a notable fact," observed Harry Sandick, a former federal prosecutor with the Southern District of New York, which his presently handling the case.
"The defendants made an after-hours attempt to hack into [Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton's] emails, for the first time, on July 27, 2016," he noted. "That's the same date in which Trump said, 'Russia, if you're listening I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.'"
A six-metre-high cartoon baby blimp of Trump is flown as a protest against his visit, in Parliament Square in London Friday. (Matt Dunham/Associated Press)
The new indictments are "the strongest evidence so far" of the Russian effort to tamper with the U.S. democratic system, Sandick said.
Alleged Russian cyberattacks against the DNC notwithstanding, Trump already signalled how much he wants this meeting with Putin. Despite Russia's standing as an adversary, he has arguably treated the Russian strongman more amicably than he has actual European allies in recent days.
Ahead of his flight to what turned out to be a tense NATO summit and a fraught visit to the U.K., Trump made a prediction to reporters about the sensitive meetings ahead.
"Frankly," he said, "Putin may be the easiest of them all."
About the Author
Matt Kwong
Reporter
Matt Kwong is a Washington-based correspondent for CBC News. He previously reported for CBC News as an online journalist in New York and Toronto. You can follow him on Twitter at: @matt_kwong
U.S. diplomat questions Trump's belief in the free world on eve of meeting Putin
CBC Radio·
U.S. President Donald Trump chats with Russia's President Vladimir Putin as they attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Danang, Vietnam on November 11, 2017. (Mikhail Klimentyev/AFP/Getty Images)
Listen 24:56
"I hate to say this, but I'm not sure that President Trump believes in the free world, and I'm not sure he believes, as American presidents have believed for a hundred years, that American interests and American values are really the same," says Daniel Fried, who served for four decades in the American Foreign Service, including a term as U.S. ambassador to Poland when communist rule ended there.
In his conversation with The Sunday Edition guest host Nahlah Ayed, Ambassador Fried looks ahead to the meeting scheduled for July 16 between the U.S. and Russian presidents, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
There are real risks to the kind of isolationist cynicism that I hear sometimes from the American president.- Daniel Fried
Fried left the U.S. government last year, after serving as senior director of the National Security Council for both Democratic and Republican administrations, and as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. He was a key player in crafting American policy in Europe after the fall of the Soviet Union, and is now a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council of the United States.
Ambassador Daniel Fried, Atlantic Council, speaks at The 2017 Concordia Annual Summit on September 19, 2017 in New York City. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Concordia Summit)
In his analysis of the Trump-Putin meeting, the ambassador invokes the lessons of history: "The last time America was in the grip of isolationism was the 1930s. It trapped the Roosevelt administration and kept us from doing anything about Hitler. The result was disaster. Millions of people lost their lives because America had pulled itself out of the game. There are real risks to the kind of isolationist cynicism that I hear sometimes from the American president."
He also drew parallels between the meeting of Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the upcoming summit in Helsinki.
"The president seems to have nothing but bad things to say about his democratically elected counterparts, and yet he seems to have good things to say about Putin and Kim Jong Un," says Fried.
North Korea leader Kim Jong-un, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands at the conclusion of their meetings at the Capella resort on Sentosa Island in Singapore on June 12. (Susan Walsh/Associated Press)
"I'm afraid it's more than a tactic. I'm afraid that this really represents President Trump's deeper strategic convictions, that American values have nothing to do with American interests, that we should not try to lead the free world, that there is no such thing as the free world: it's merely a sham, and that we ought to be just another grasping superpower trying to take our cut."
Although he says he is encouraged that Trump has said he will raise contentious issues with Putin, such as Russia's interventions in Syria and Ukraine, Fried adds a note of caution: "There's raising an issue just to say you raised it, to check the box. And then there's raising it in a way that the other guy knows you're serious. That's what he needs to do."
If we can get over this current period of distraction, then we'll be okay.- Daniel Fried
Fried, who has met Putin himself several times, says the leader has already benefited simply because the meeting with Trump is happening. He also expresses concern that the Russian president will have the upper hand on Monday: "Putin is smart, tough, knows what he wants. He excels at manipulating any conversation to his advantage, which is not a reason not to meet with him. It's a reason to be on your toes and pay attention."
Despite all his concerns, the ambassador leaves room to correct the course: "Those of us who believe in the free world and America's role as part of the west, not alone but with our allies, need to remember who we are and what we've stood for a hundred years. If we bring that to the table, if we can get over this current period of distraction, then we'll be okay."
Amid investigations and tensions, Trump and Putin going 1-on-1
Helsinki meeting condemned in advance by assortment of members of U.S. Congress from both parties
The Associated Press·
Latest Heading
Trump says he doesn't see why Russia would have meddled in election
After Putin meeting, Trump tweets: 'I have GREAT confidence in MY intelligence people'
Thomson Reuters· Posted: Jul 16, 2018 1:49 AM ET
5451 Comments (The tally was 5561 before I refreshed the page hours ago) Commenting is now closed for this story.
Grace Oliver
The President is elected to serve the people. By now it should be obvious to all but the most brainwashed supporters that this president isn't serving the American people. And the Republican party is nothing but a bunch of spineless enablers, helping him to destroy their own country. Anyone who votes for this lot in the midterm elections either hasn't been paying attention or is complicit.
Louisa Walker
@Grace Oliver I saw an American woman interviewed once that had worked the whole election for a proven Russian plant. She couldn’t believe it. “But, but, but, no. I knew Willie since...” than she trailed off and kept saying no. With a president like Donnie, it’s best not to believe much of what coming out of Washington these days.
Hubert Ling
@Grace Oliver ;
What is wrong with Trump wanting to have good relations with Russia instead of war?
Steven Arsenault
@Louisa Walker
Do you think america meddles in elections? If so, why the hypocrisy?
Garry Horsnell
@Hubert Ling
Many say we should have good relations and make deals with communist, totalitarian China and its leaders to try to influence them and get China to be more democratic.
Shouldn't we do the same wih Russia and Putin?
Rob Bondar
@Grace Oliver I would say Trump is a symptom of a broken system in the US that hasnt been serving the people. Thats why so many people were disgusted by both candidates. Sick of the establishment politicians of both sides who supress progressives and have little daylight between them. Trump was a disastrous hail mary for change.
Richard Jay
@Grace Oliver
Would you like some cheese with that whine?
Matt Thuaii
@Garry Horsnell
The US wants to control the world and remake it in their image. China wants to control the world and remake it in their image. Russia wants to control the world and remake it in their image...
Since each respective image is only appealing if you happen to live in said country (and none are all that great in the first place), the answer to your question is a solid “probably not”.
Ryan Tasker
@Richard Jay Really? So you're happy that our world has fallen off the cliff... my god what have we become?! Humans simply don't deserve to exist on this planet any longer.
Greg Gore (formerly Greggore)
@Grace Oliver - get over it. If there was any actual proof of Trump's campaign and Russia colluding, CNN wouldn't have anything else BUT that story on the news for an entire year.
Still zero evidence of anything of the sort. Every indictment from Mueller has nothing to do with the Trump campaign.
@Hubert Ling What is wrong with Trump wanting to have good relations with Russia There is nothing wrong with the concept but this a psychopath creating mayhem for his own purposes. Check out the symptoms ; tRump is a very scary fit
@Grace Oliver The Republican party is the villain in this piece. That party is corrupted beyond redemption. Serious conservatives should be working to create a new and decent party of the right. They won't, but they should.
@Rob Bondar After the display the Republicans put on at committee last week I can tell why Americans are sick of them. Little men with no self awareness. Everybody can see how craven they are. If the government is broken. The republicans are to blame.
@Steven Arsenault "Do you think america meddles in elections? If so, why the hypocrisy?"
@Louisa Walker So you’re under the impression two wrongs make a right. Good luck skippy.
Too Too Funny Indeed
Matt Thuaii
@Greg Gore (formerly Greggore)
Correct. Russia had nothing to do with Trump getting elected. Except for the massive covert social media campaigns engineered and funded by Russia, the hacking of Trump’s rivals by Russians, the dozen Russian spies now charged with crimes, and the millions (possibly billions) flowing back and forth through shadowy channels between Trump associates and Russians...
...aside from all that they had nothing to do with Trump getting elected.
Rob Bondar
@Louisa Walker I would suggest that the democrats let people down the most. The corruption of the primary against Sanders, running an unlikable candidate, having the house and senate and not using it to pass single payer...fix Flint. They've been trying to stop progressive populism.
Content disabled. David R. Amos @Karen King "you again?? with your insulting, not cute, comments.....
Methinks you just presented a classic example of a crackpot calling an old kettle names N'esy
Louisa Walker
@David R. Amos You are pretty sad David. Drop the n’esy pas, it makes you look even more irrelevant than you already make yourself.
Lou Parks
@David R. Amos
Hey Dave What's up with that "N'esy Pas" nonsense? You put it in to irritate readers?
David Williams
@Scott Brown Freedom of the press has been under attack since Trump started his only defense to damning reports of his improprieties and outright lies. " fake news ". Russian interference and collusion involving Trumps aides and election undermines the American constitution. How you ask? He actively, through intermediaries, sought a foreign hostile nations help to win the Presidency. His tax reform was for personal gain and hid that with thinly veiled lies! Remember him saying "I won't benefit from this"? Suggesting we should be worried about Canada as well is not only off topic, but classic deflection and change the subject. Children do that
Scott Brown
@Amelia Blanchard,
1) "When a leader of a democratic country, the leader of the entire free world, in fact, attacks the free press"
Lol, free press, controlled by 5 large corporations. "In 1983, 90% of US media was controlled by 50 companies; as of 2011, 90% was controlled by just 6 companies and in 2017 the number was 5."
Only pro-Liberal press managed to call demands to increase NATO spending as "attack". In fact, Obama called for it as well. Orwellian world we live in indeed.
3) "doing nothing to deal with ... growing Neo-nazi" Is it growing faster than extreme left, e.g. Antifa? Did any MSM demand to control Antifa? Based on the news, doesn't look like it.
4) "Trudeau is ... a champion of democracy."
Lol, another great one. "Champion of democracy" killed the election reform that would have given more representation to other parties (better democracy, eh?), because it jeopardized his party leadership.
Amelia Blanchard
@Scott Brown He didn't kill the election reform, the party before country politics did. the same party before country politics that is now killing the constitution.
Yes, refusing to answer questions, fair questions, and installing a state media is an attack on the free press.
Obama NEVER treated his allies the way Trump is treating them. Stop making false comparisons and telling lies.
@Amelia Blanchard So you're saying that Trump coming out today and saying "we believe Russia interfered with out election" is akin to the allied forces in WW2? Do you see any problem with this absolutely hyperbolic rhetoric? There's very little space for rational discussion when every discussion devolves to WW2 comparisons. Honestly I would have preferred Trump stated the obvious that Russia interfered with the election but on the scale of annoying things that Trump does regularly this ranks... » more
Rob Lehtisaari
@Grace Oliver
Foreign Governments that are authoritarian & immoral choose party's that are already corrupted to work for their own interests over their nations & nations people.
The USA, & UK did this in setting up Bananna Republics in Latin America, & colonies in Africa, as well as nations such as Iran to steal the peoples Oil Wealth, and culminated in the last illegal invasion & occupation of Iraq, based on false pretenses of WMD's which created ISIS/DAESH, & The Syrian refugee crisis.
Russian Federation lead by President Putin, has started his grand strategy with a covert then overt invasion of the Ukraine, the installation of a Chihuahua President that barks loudly, and does his bidding to erode the Western economies & military alliances, as well as foment a new rise of fascism in North American & European politics based on division, fear & hatred of the other--xenophobia, bigotry be it religion or racial, and out-right misogyny in his treatment of women heads of state.
President Vladimir Putin controls the US Republican party to the extent that the Koch brothers, & Sheldon Adelson do...by leveraging an already morally bankrupt group of leaders to entice their own self-interests over the interests of the people of the nation.
Amelia Blanchard
@Peter Samson
I am saying that when Fascism was on the rise in the 1930s and authoritarian ideas were spreading everywhere, allies did not sit on their hands and do nothing. They firstly, recognized a problem and a threat, and then gradual, piece by piece, dealt with that threat. Trump coming out and admitting to the problem, would be the first step towards dealing with the threat, but he has not even been able to entertain the notion of a possibility of a problem here, and that puts all our... » more
@Amelia Blanchard You should just stop with the WW2 comparissons- really. Just as a matter of fact the allies did sit on their hands and do nothing- look it up, start with the Munich Agreement of 1938. It wasn't until Germany started invading that action was taken, it's kind of the defining characteristic of Neville Chamberlain's time as British PM. But of course this has nothing to do with the present situation because they're entirely different. Unless of course you're suggesting that Russia... » more
They didn't at first, but they did, and that is the point. They stood up to the rise of authoritarianism. Something we are seeing again. The comparison is valid whether it is convenient for your narrative or not. The same ideology, the same and similar conspiracy theories, similar levels of division, the same attack on democratic values and institutions all over Europe and elsewhere. And Russia has started invading other countries. Still silence, from the American president, who himself, attacks the first amendment on a regular basis, spreads conspiracy theories, and pushes authoritarian style tactics, putting his constitution at risk.
He is a threat to democracy. And so is Putin, whom he does nothing to challenge in any way in spite of Putin's undermining of American democracy, doubling the threat that he, Trump, presents to that democracy.« less
Too much hate Grace. You've drank too much mainstream media Kool-aid. Henry Kissinger and his ilk run wild in every administration and you're worried about Trump? This is like telling kids that cartoons aren't real. Spiderman isn't real. What your worried about is kind of like Spiderman.
Jim Palmer
@Grace Oliver
"I beat Hillary Clinton easily and frankly we beat her. We won that race and it's a shame that there can be even a little bit of a cloud over it, Trump said".
We, Donnie ? You and your idol/buddy Vlad ? A 'Freudian Slip' if I ever heard one !
Peter Samson
@Amelia Blanchard Well the invasion of Crimea happened in March of 2014 so it's not really fair to lay that at Trump's feet. If Trump's not taking sufficient action for you then Obama must really have disappointed you. And Trump isn't attacking the 1st amendment, he's attacking the press- there's an important difference. If he was attacking the 1st amendment he would be trying to shut down the papers and sites that print all this stuff about him. And Trump hasn't done anything to threaten democracy, there are midterm elections happening in November, there will be another general election in 2020- democracy is doing just fine. It's all these ridiculous statements comparing Trump to Hitler and suggesting democracy is under attack and it's like WW2 right now that lose you credibility to describe the stupid things that Trump actually does.
@Greg Gore (formerly Greggore) Trump just proved to the world on live tv that he bends for Putin.No amount of deflection will change what the world just witnessed.Have a nice day.
Yes it is fair to lay it on Trump's feet. He is the president of the United States. He is supposed to know history, especially recent events which impact global stability and order, and suggest a sinister side to a dictator he is now propping up as though he is a saint.
Obama made a lot of mistakes in his time, and we can discuss what he could have done more, or better, or maybe things he did that he should not have done at all. But he still did more than Trump is doing now,... » more
Not at all. With respect to improving relations with Russia, Trump is the best of U.S. presidents *in decades*
> Instead of acknowledging Russian interference in American democracy, he closes his eyes and plugs his ears and pretends it doesn't exist.
He is correct to do that. To do otherwise would be hypocritical.
> Instead of acknowledging Russia's threat on the world stage ...
Russia is *less* of a threat on the world stage than the U.S. is.
> ... in spite of Russian aggression and expansion ...
There's hardly any of that. The real aggressor and expansionist has been the U.S., for decades.
> ... that the G7 simply forget about it and let Russia back in ...
That would be the correct thing to do.
> ... demanding there are zero consequences for these actions ...
Nonsense. Russia has suffered under sanctions ever since.
> Obama is gone.
Good riddance to a dangerous aggressor.
> Trump is president right now and he is enabling the deliberate attack on his country, and its allies, through his silence on Russia and his attacks on anyone who tries to stand up to them, whether Republican, civilian, or nation.
What evidence of any kind do you have for Trump "enabling" anything of the kind?
Scott Brown
@Amelia Blanchard,
"Instead of acknowledging Russian interference in American democracy"
Wasn't it actually more honest and more democratic to be shown that DNC was rigging the election against Bernie? This whole e-mail disaster was only possible because DNC did their dirty business instead of listening to voters.
"Russian aggression and expansion"
Was it aggression, or acknowledging the will of people in the region?
1) Polling by the Razumkov Centre in 2008 found that 63.8% of Crimeans... » more
Robin Blair
@Grace Oliver
Russia First! Russia First!
Make CCCP Great Again!
John Douglas
@Grace Oliver
Grace just won the best com ment award!!
well said, Grace
Grace Oliver
@John Douglas
Thank you. And by the way, that was written before Donnie and Vlad's love-in, lol.
Amelia Blanchard
@Lou Parks
No it wasn't.
Right, like the war of 1814? And clearly zero knowledge of the barbarism brought on by dictatorships like the ones he loves to love.
No they really don't. This is the real deal. The US constitution and everything that goes with it is at risk right now, and people are right to point it out.
The actions of the Bush admin. are not Obama's fault and thus he cannot be individually a hypocrite for them. The US as a nation can. But that is irrelevant, because non of it changes the fact that there is a serious threat to American democracy right now that is not being addressed or even acknowledged.
Guy Stone
@Grace Oliver I know that people that attack Trump never say what he did wrong with specifics... Trump pushed NATO countries to spend more on military - Putin's #1 enemy
Lou Parks
@Amelia Blanchard
> No it wasn't.
Quite the contrary.
> Right, like the war of 1814?
What war of 1814 would *that* be?
> And clearly zero knowledge of the barbarism brought on by dictatorships like the ones he loves to love.
That's nonsensical make believe. Trump has not said, to my knowledge, that he "loves to love" any dictatorship
Lou Parks
> The US constitution and everything that goes with it is at risk right now ...
Hyperbole. In what way exactly would they be at risk?
> ... and people are right to point it out.
Nope. No one is making a valid argument about it
Lou Parks
> ... there is a serious threat to American democracy right now ...
Ridiculous. There is no democracy to begin with
David R. Amos
@Louisa Walker "You are pretty sad David. Drop the n’esy pas, it makes you look even more irrelevant than you already make yourself."
Methinks you just presented a classic example of a crackpot calling an old kettle names N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Lou Parks "Hey Dave What's up with that "N'esy Pas" nonsense? You put it in to irritate readers?"
Methinks you know what it means as well as I bet even you don't know how I how many times you asked the same question over the past week but CBC and I do N'esy Pas?
BTW I repeat left wingnut should address me as Mr Amos After all I am no friend of yours correct?
Steve Taylor
@Grace Oliver
Trump is breaking the establishment. Their greatest fear is peace breaking out. Go Trump!
David R. Amos
@Steve Taylor Methinks you may be more right than wrong Trump's mindless self serving Circus Acts may yield positive results for the benefit of all in the end N'esy Pas?
Zoli Hartai
"Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse" - is the stupidest statement among all his other stupid statements. Has he never heard of the Cold War? the Cuban missile crisis? Why is he still president?
Andrew McLaren
@Zoli Hartai But but but, don't you remember, the Cuban Missile Crisis was the best excuse EVAH, for imposing National Security scare-tarriffs, on the USA's closest trading partners?
David R. Amos
@Andrew McLaren Interesting
John Mann
Putin must have a truly nasty video of Trump.
Richard Jay
@John Mann
Little too much CNN in your diet me thinks....
David R. Amos
@Richard Jay Methinks you are on to something N'esy Pas?
Jon Holmes
@Matt Thuaii I've given up myself. What gets flagged and what passes leaves me mystified.
He's still president because he was elected by more than half the country. In fact his popularity ratings are higher than Obama's were at this same time in his presidency.
This is called democracy "The worst form of government... except for all the others..." - W.C.
@Steve Taylor "He's still president because he was elected by more than half the country. In fact his popularity ratings are higher than Obama's were at this same time in his presidency"
Well Put Sir
Steve Taylor
@Jamie Thak
Popular vote doesn't matter in a republic. Read up on "Tyranny of the majority" to understand why a republican system became preferred to mob rule.
Trump won. Fair and square. The war machine can't get over it. Their greatest fear is peace breaking out. Trump is using dialogue, talking peace - their worst nightmare.
Page is closed to commenting.
David R. Amos
@Jamie Thak "Hillary won the popular vote."
Methinks that depends very much on whom you rely on as a news source. If you rely on CNN like CBC obviously does well you should recall how far their poling was off before Trump was elected correct? FYI I have heard in the "Alt" media that Trump won the popular vote as well. One thing I know for certain it is hard telling not knowing for sure because I did not witness the tally myself like I do when I visit certain polling stations after I run in an election. Right or wrong your point is moot because Trump is the Yankee president right now N'esy Pas?
Kevin Smith JR.
Just when you think trump can't go any lower, he goes much lower.
John Sollows
@Kevin Smith JR.
Remember Steve Colbert's question during the '16 campaign?
David R. Amos
@John Sollows Methinks that not everybody pays attention to what Yankee TV comedians have to say about anything. However folks should start listening to the ghost of George Carlin N'esy Pas?
Louisa Walker
@David R. Amos N’esy pas? Your command of the French language should embarrass you. I’d drop that phrase. It cheapens your argument and makes you look like a rube.
David R. Amos
@Louisa Walker Methinks no doubt you have been told many times lately Hence there is no need in my being redundant N'esy Pas?
Louisa Walker
@David R. Amos Everything you say makes you a humourless side note and an example of the advances god’s special little people have made in today’s society.
michael flinn
@Louisa Walker Relax Dave - when the alt left hauls out their stock in trade - personal attacks - they reached their limit it debate.
Piet Bloem
@Louisa Walker The "mute" feature is priceless in cases such as this.
Neil Turv
@Louisa Walker
I've scrolled through your posts, they may not be as repetitive as Mr. Amos but all you do is insult people who have a different opinion than yours and cast broad aspersions.
So my very simple question is:
Outside of some oversimplified right/.left dichotomy how are your posts, in fact any more productive or different than David's?
David Williams
@Neil Turv Some people are unable to bear the criticism.
Louisa Walker
@michael flinn Who’s Dave, Tammy?
Louisa Walker
@Piet Bloem Alas my mute button doesn’t work, besides I’d miss the witty stylings of all god’s special little people.
Joseph Power
Trump is an absolute disgrace.
David R. Amos
@Joseph Power and Hillary is not I suppose?
Louisa Walker
@David R. Amos Hillary? She left quite an impression on you if you’re still babbling about her. You aren’t from around here so I’ll tell you Donnie’s way past disgraceful. He’s an abomination.
Steve Cowell
@David R. Amos That's right, she's not. No comparison.
David R. Amos
@Louisa Walker Methinks you obviously have no clue who I am whatsoever Perhaps you should Google my name and hers N'esy Pas?
Content disabled.
David R. Amos
@Steve Cowell Methinks we agree the lady is pure evil while The Donald is just a buffoon N'esy Pas?
Aaron Morris
@David R. Amos
Hey Davey, yeah. We know who you are. You’re quite google-able. Embarrassingly so. You should probably only wish that people don’t know you
David R. Amos
@Aaron Morris Methinks I should feel honoured that my political foes don't like me However it not fair that half of my replies are blocked N'esy Pas?
Rob LeDrew
He Blames Americans for bad relations with Russia. Talk about throwing Americans under the bus. Yet half of America love him. Talk about blind and deaf.
David R. Amos
@Rob LeDrew Welcome to the Circus
David R. Amos
@Rob LeDrew "Talk about blind and deaf."
Methinks that whereas the Yankees duly elected the Reality TV dude they call "The Donald" as ringmaster of the Circus they call Congress. I truly believe the clown is a walking talking oxymoron of the Highest Order and incredibly funny. Whereas folks around the world paid their two bits to see the high diving act we might as well sit back and enjoy the Greatest Show on Earth N'esy Pas?
daryl tan
Can hardly wait for more pearls of wisdom from Donnie.
Maybe Crimea and Ukraine should just sue Russia....
David R. Amos
@daryl tan Yea Right
Dave Arthur
No wonder Donnie’s casinos went broke. He doesn’t understand how poker is played.
David R. Amos
@Dave Arthur I agree
Sean Henley
Trump seems more like an agent of Russia than a leader of America.
Roy Kirk
@Andrew Ogden He's done all he can to stall and discredit a legitimate inquiry into the Russian meddling that got him elected president.
David R. Amos
@Roy Kirk "He's done all he can to stall and discredit a legitimate inquiry into the Russian meddling that got him elected presidenT
Methinks the Yankees should finally investigate what went down between Mr Mueller et al and I many moons ago N'esy Pas?
Travis Ladwin
@David R. Amos
You really have a false, highly inflated sense of importance Mr. Amos. Methinks you should acquire the prestige of social interaction in the realm of reality, N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Travis Ladwin Methinks I should ask how many lawyers have you sued lately N'esy Pas?
Now that Trump has read the script given to him by Putin, will Putin give him the hotel room photos.
David R. Amos
@Vic Yanda Dream on
Kevin Delaney
Trump: Rants against &threatens the press. Putin: Runs a Nation where journalists are killed. Neither is interested in democracy.
Kevin Delaney
@Kevin Delaney Now, let us talk about Walls Vladimir. You once had a beautiful Berlin Wall.. it got torn down. How can I help you get that Wall back??
David R. Amos@Kevin Delaney Oh So True Sir
Chris Maurier
No one will ever know what was discussed or what was achieved or not achieved but my belief is Trump will return to the states with his tail between his legs only to declare a huge win.
David R. Amos
@ Chris Maurier I concur
Greg Stafford
Trump is being played like a fiddle by a cunning KGB expert but Trump will call it another win.
David R. Amos
@Greg Stafford YUP
Amid investigations and tensions, Trump and Putin going 1-on-1
Helsinki meeting condemned in advance by assortment of members of U.S. Congress from both parties
The Associated Press·
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a G20 Summit in 2017. The two meet again today in Helsinki. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press)
The meeting comes as questions swirl about whether Trump will sharply and publicly rebuke his Russian counterpart for the election meddling that prompted a special counsel probe that Trump has repeatedly labelled a witch hunt.
In his tweets, Trump continued to undermine the investigation, and blamed his predecessor, Barack Obama, for failing to stop Russia's efforts to sway the 2016 election in Trump's favour. He claimed Obama "was informed by the FBI about Russian Meddling, he said it couldn't happen, was no big deal, & did NOTHING about it."
CBC's Susan Ormiston, in Helsinki, says Putin seeks to undo Russia's isolation on the world stage and sees Trump as an "ally."
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet today in Helsinki
00:0009:40
Susan Ormiston reports on what will happen at the Trump/Putin summit. 9:40
The Obama administration did, in fact, take action, including confronting Putin in person as well as expelling nearly three dozen Russian diplomats the U.S. said were actually intelligence operatives and imposing new sanctions.
While Trump was eager for a made-for-TV moment that will dominate headlines like his sit-down with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last month, the Kremlin's primary mission was simply to have the summit happen. Putin hopes the meeting, mere hours after he presided over the World Cup finals, will help him forge good personal ties with Trump and focus on areas where Moscow and Washington may be able to find common ground, such as Syria.
EU a 'foe'
The two leaders first meet one-on-one in the Finnish presidential palace's opulent Gothic Hall, then continue their discussions with an expanded group of aides and over lunch in the Hall of Mirrors, once the emperor's throne room. The leaders will then take questions at a news conference before going their separate ways.
Putin will likely not be shooting for official recognition of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea or easing of the crippling U.S. sanctions, aware that the U.S. Congress would never allow such action.
But he would welcome a symbolic end to Western protests over Crimea and Moscow's attempts to destabilize elections and traditional Western alliances and norms.
Trump unleashed his own attacks on those very institutions before arriving in Finland.
In an interview with CBS News that aired Sunday, Trump described the European Union, a bloc of nations that includes many of America's closest allies, as a "foe."
'NATO is now strong & rich!'
That attack on the alliance came on the heels of Trump's jarring appearance at a NATO summit in Brussels, where he harshly criticized traditional allies over "delinquent" defence spending only to later confirm his commitment to the military alliance that has long been a bulwark against Russian aggression.
"NATO is now strong & rich!" Trump wrote in a celebratory tweet Monday morning. During his breakfast, he said NATO had "never been more together" and said the summit had been "a little bit tough at the beginning, but it turned out to be love."
A message supporting the free press is displayed on a video wall at the Helsinki Music Centre. (Ints Kalnins/Reuters)
Ahead of his sit-down with with Putin, who has cracked down on the free press, Trump has continued to unleash a series of attacks on the media, including as Air Force One descended into Helsinki.
"Unfortunately, no matter how well I do at the Summit, if I was given the great city of Moscow as retribution for all of the sins and evils committed by Russia over the years, I would return to criticism that it wasn't good enough — that I should have gotten Saint Petersburg in addition!" Trump tweeted.
"Much of our news media is indeed the enemy of the people and all the Dems know how to do is resist and obstruct!"
'There won't be a Perry Mason here'
"Russia has done nothing to deserve us meeting them in this way," said Nina Jankowicz, a global fellow at the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute who specializes in Russia, Ukraine and disinformation. For Putin, she added, "not only is this a PR coup no matter what happens, Trump could say nothing and it would help to legitimize his regime."
Hovering over Helsinki is the spectre of the 2016 election interference and ongoing special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between Trump campaign officials and Russia.
Trump said in Britain last week — another chaotic stop on his European tour — that he would raise the issue of election meddling with Putin even as he played down its impact.
"I don't think you'll have any 'Gee, I did it. I did it. You got me,"' said Trump, invoking a television detective. "There won't be a Perry Mason here, I don't think. But you never know what happens, right? But I will absolutely firmly ask the question."
Russia calls indictment 'shameful comedy'
Trump also said in the CBS interview that he had given no thought to asking Putin to extradite the dozen Russian military intelligence officers indicted this past week in on charges related to the hacking of Democratic targets.
But after being asked about that by his interviewer, Trump said "certainly I'll be asking about it" although extradition is highly unlikely. The U.S. doesn't have an extradition treaty with Moscow and can't force the Russians to hand over citizens. Russia's constitution also prohibits turning over citizens to foreign governments.
Putin is likely to strongly reaffirm his denial of any meddling and cast the U.S. charges as unfounded.
Trump chats with Putin as they attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in 2017. Hovering over Helsinki is the spectre of the 2016 election interference and ongoing special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between Trump campaign officials and Russia. (Mikhail Klimentyev/AFP/Getty Images)
The Russian Foreign Ministry rejected last week's indictment as part of a "shameful comedy" staged by those in the U.S. who try to prevent the normalization of Russia-U.S. ties, arguing that it doesn't contain evidence to back the accusations.
On Syria, a possible deal could see Moscow helping mediate the withdrawal of Iranian forces and their Hezbollah proxies from the areas alongside Syria's border with Israel — a diplomatic coup that would reflect Russia's carefully cultivated ties with both Israel and Iran.
Trump goes 1 on 1 with Putin, says world wants them to 'get along'
Helsinki meeting condemned in advance by assortment of members of U.S. Congress from both parties
The Associated Press·
Trump and Putin meet for historic summit in Helsinki
00:0001:56
'Getting along with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing,' says U.S. president 1:56
Kicking off his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump said in Helsinki, "I really think the world wants to see us get along."
The pair arrived at the presidential palace in Finland's capital for a long-awaited meeting, hours after Trump blamed Washington's own past "foolishness and stupidity," and not Russian election meddling or the country's annexation of Crimea, for bad relations between the two countries.
"I think we have great opportunities together ... frankly we have not been getting along the last few years," Trump said.
Putin, for his part, said he and Trump have maintained regular contact, including talking by phone and meeting at international events. Speaking through an interpreter, the Russian leader said, "The time has come to have a thorough discussion on various international problems and sensitive issues."
The meeting takes place against a backdrop of fraying Western alliances, a new peak in the Russia investigation and fears that Moscow's aggression may go unchallenged.
"Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse," Trump tweeted from Finland on Monday morning:
The meeting, which was being closely watched by rattled world capitals, was condemned in advance by members of Congress from both parties after the U.S. indictment last week of 12 Russian military intelligence officers accused of hacking Democrats in the 2016 election to help Trump's presidential campaign.
Hillary Clinton,Trump's 2016 presidential opponent, also weighed in, via Twitter.
Russia denies interfering in the U.S. presidential election.
Trump has said he will raise the election meddling, but does not expect to get anywhere. He has repeatedly noted that Putin denies it, also saying it is alleged to have taken place before he became president.
CBC's Susan Ormiston, in Helsinki, tells us what to expect from today's meeting.
What to expect in the Trump-Putin meeting
00:0001:54
CBC News senior correspondent Susan Ormiston offers perspective on the historic summit in Helsinki 1:54
While Trump was eager for a made-for-TV moment that will dominate headlines like his sit-down with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last month, the Kremlin's primary mission was simply to have the summit happen. Putin hopes the meeting, mere hours after he presided over the World Cup finals, will help him forge good personal ties with Trump and focus on areas where Moscow and Washington may be able to find common ground, such as Syria.
EU a 'foe'
Ahead of his sitdown with Putin, who has cracked down on the free press, Trump continued to unleash a series of attacks on the media, including as Air Force One descended into Helsinki.
"Unfortunately, no matter how well I do at the Summit, if I was given the great city of Moscow as retribution for all of the sins and evils committed by Russia over the years, I would return to criticism that it wasn't good enough — that I should have gotten Saint Petersburg in addition!" Trump tweeted.
"Much of our news media is indeed the enemy of the people and all the Dems know how to do is resist and obstruct!"
A message supporting the free press on a video wall at the Helsinki Music Centre. U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are meeting in Finland's capital Monday. (Ints Kalnins/Reuters)
The two leaders were holding a one-on-one meeting with only interpreters, followed by a working lunch accompanied by advisers.
The summit caps a trip abroad during which Trump harshly criticized NATO allies for failing to spend enough on their militaries and he referred to the European Union as a "foe" in trade.
In some of the strongest words yet reflecting the unease of Washington's traditional allies, Germany's foreign minister said on Monday Europe could not rely on Trump.
"We can no longer completely rely on the White House," Heiko Maas told the Funke newspaper group.
"To maintain our partnership with the U.S.A., we must readjust it. The first clear consequence can only be that we need to align ourselves even more closely in Europe.
"Europe must not let itself be divided, however sharp the verbal attacks and absurd the tweets may be."
Russia calls indictment 'shameful comedy'
Hovering over Helsinki is the spectre of the 2016 election interference and ongoing special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between Trump campaign officials and Russia.
Putin is likely to strongly reaffirm his denial of any meddling and cast the U.S. charges as unfounded.
The Russian Foreign Ministry rejected last week's indictment as part of a "shameful comedy" staged by those in the U.S. who try to prevent the normalization of Russia-U.S. ties, arguing that it doesn't contain evidence to back the accusations.
On Syria, a possible deal could see Moscow helping mediate the withdrawal of Iranian forces and their Hezbollah proxies from the areas alongside Syria's border with Israel — a diplomatic coup that would reflect Russia's carefully cultivated ties with both Israel and Iran.
Trump says he doesn't see why Russia would have meddled in election
After Putin meeting, Trump tweets: 'I have GREAT confidence in MY intelligence people'
Thomson Reuters·
Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles during a news conference on Monday with U.S. President Donald Trump at the presidential palace in Helsinki, Finland. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press)
U.S. President Donald Trump said after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in Helsinki that he didn't see "any reason why" Russia would have interfered in the 2016 U.S. federal election, despite the findings of his own intelligence agencies.
On a day when he faced pressure from critics, allied countries and even his own staff to take a tough line, Trump said not a single critical word about Moscow on any of the issues that have brought relations between the two powers to the lowest ebb since the Cold War.
Instead, he denounced the "stupidity" of his own country's policy, especially the decision to investigate election interference. Trump's performance is likely to create a political storm in the United States, where the White House has struggled for months to dispel a suggestion that Trump was unwilling to stand up to Putin.
Trump held his meeting with Putin just days after a special prosecutor in the United States indicted 12 Russian agents for stealing Democratic Party documents to help him win the vote. Asked if he believed U.S. intelligence agencies, which concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help him defeat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, he said he was not convinced.
Watch as Trump deflects a direct question about Russian election interference.
Trump deflects direct question about Russian election interference
00:0004:41
Blames Democrats and Hillary Clinton, and says he believes Vladimir Putin's denial of any wrongdoing 4:41
"I don't see any reason why it would be" Russia, Trump said.
"President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today."
The U.S. president also continued to deny that there had been any other collusion between his campaign and Russians, declaring: "We ran a brilliant campaign and that's why I'm president."
Speaking through an interpreter, Putin once again denied what he described as "so-called interference of Russia." He called it "nonsense" and insisted the Russian state had never interfered and would never interfere in the American electoral process.
Trump and Putin attend a working lunch during their meeting on Monday. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press)
Putin said the meeting marked the first steps to restore "an acceptable level of trust and go back to previous level of interaction on all mutual interest issues."
The Russian president reiterated his message in an interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News, saying allegations of meddling were ridiculous and that Russia had nothing compromising on Trump.
"I don't want to insult President Trump when I say this — and I may come as rude — but before he announced that he will run for presidency, he was of no interest for us," he said in the Fox interview.
'Clear in our assessment'
American intelligence agencies have said their assessments show that Russia meddled in the 2016 campaign.
In a statement released after the meeting between the two leaders, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats — who was appointed by Trump — said the role of the intelligence community is "to provide the best information and fact-based assessments possible" for the president and U.S. policymakers.
"We have been clear in our assessment of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy, and we will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security.
As reaction and criticism poured in after the meeting, the U.S. president weighed in again on Twitter later Monday, saying "as I said today and many times before, "I have GREAT confidence in MY intelligence people." However, I also recognize that in order to build a brighter future, we cannot exclusively focus on the past — as the world's two largest nuclear powers, we must get along!"
'Foolishness and stupidity'
Before the summit even began, Trump blamed his own country for the deterioration in relations.
"Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!" he said on Twitter. The Russian foreign ministry tweeted back: "We agree."
At the news conference, Trump was invited by reporters to offer any criticism of Russia but he repeatedly declined.
Asked if Russia was at all to blame for the poor ties, he said: "I hold both countries responsible. I think the U.S. has been foolish. We've all been foolish," he said, before veering into discussion about his election victory.
Watch as Trump blames both U.S. and Russia for the frosty relations between the 2 nations.
Trump blames U.S. and Russia for frosty relations between countries
00:0002:00
'I think that the United States has been foolish,' U.S. president says at Helsinki news conference 2:00
"I beat Hillary Clinton easily and frankly we beat her. We won that race and it's a shame that there can be even a little bit of a cloud over it," he said.
Trump's warm words for Russia were a marked contrast from the past week when he repeatedly rebuked traditional U.S. allies at a summit of NATO and during a visit to Britain.
Asked if Putin was an adversary, he said: "Actually I called him a competitor and a good competitor he is and I think the word competitor is a compliment."
Putin spoke of the importance of the two countries working together and praised Trump, at one point interrupting the news conference to give the U.S. president a soccer ball.
Asked whether he had wanted Trump to win the 2016 election and had instructed officials to help him, Putin said, "Yes I did," although he denied any interference, saying the allegations were "complete nonsense."
Trump also told gathered reporters that Putin made an "incredible offer" of law enforcement collaboration during the leaders' one-on-one summit.
Watch the full Trump-Putin news conference below.
CBC News
Donald Trump news conference with Vladimir Putin
00:0045:50
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin speak to reporters following their meeting in Helsinki on Monday. 45:50
Putin said American investigators who have charged 12 Russians with hacking during the 2016 presidential election can come work with Russian investigators on the case.
A spokesperson for special counsel Robert Mueller, whose office on Friday charged the hackers, declined to comment.
It was not clear from Trump's statement what sort of help Putin was offering. The United States does not have an extradition treaty with Russia, making it uncertain that the indicted Russian military intelligence officers will ever be prosecuted in an American courtroom.
The summit, which is being closely watched around the world, was not the first time Trump and Putin have held talks. They met on the sidelines of world leader meetings in Germany and Vietnam last year.
Clarifications
An earlier version of this story said Trump and Putin emerged from the summit and said Moscow did not interfere in the 2016 U.S. election. In fact, Trump said, "I don't see any reason why it would be [Russia]."
'This is shameful': Trump's news conference with Putin stuns fellow Republicans
'No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant,' says Trump critic McCain
CBC News· Posted: Jul 16, 2018 2:07 PM ET
3825 Comments
Jon Underwood
There really is nothing left to say about this guy. It is now incredulous that what there IS left to say is that those with power are STILL not doing anything about the situation.
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David R. Amos
@Jon Underwood "There really is nothing left to say about this guy"
Methinks everybody "in the know" knows that I have lots to say about Senator McCain If CBC had not blocked certain link this morning you may have known it to N'esy Pas?
Peter Mals
@David R. Amos you use "methinks' far too much... and get back to work
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David R. Amos
@Peter Mals Methinks you are talking to my ghost N'esy Pas?
Mike Martin
@Peter Mals Work? Amos? Methinks not, n'est pas?
Jack Christian
@David R. Amos Grow up.
Content disabled. David R. Amos
@Jack Christian "Grow up"
Methinks everybody knows a ghost can't do that N'esy Pas?
Kate Ferguson
@Jon Underwood
What makes you think no one is doing anything about the situation? True, Republicans will continue to normalize Trump in their own self interests - but in the end, the true foes of any leader/politician - are the people. The people will remedy the situation when they see fit to do so. Nothing scares the pants off politicians like the power the people hold over them. The people rent power to leaders - leaders never own it.
David R. Amos
@Kate Ferguson "What makes you think no one is doing anything about the situation?"
Methinks fans of the GOP may enjoy checking out page 25 N'esy Pas?
If there was any doubt that Trump was corrupt beyond words, that is no longer the case.
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David R. Amos
@Jason Kaine Methinks many Yankees would agree that they were wise enough to pick a clown over any very corrupt politician to govern them Many Canadians would agree that at least can make us laugh at the nonsense N'esy Pas?
Steve Taylor
@Jason Kaine
The military industrial complex and imperial types HATE Trump trying diplomacy and peace with Russia. That's bad for business.
Good on Trump for rattling your cages! I like the guy more every fake headline CBC prints. Found those WMDs yet?
Jane Miller
@Steve Taylor
the wmd's, for the second Iraq war? that Trump supported?
David R. Amos
@Steve Taylor "Found those WMDs yet?"
NOPE
However they did find something really important to the Federal Reserve Bank and its cohorts in Canada and it appears only I will talk about it. Methinks thats why CBC blocks me so much N'esy Pas?
Nelson Porter
This is just beyond bizarre. The Russians must have something on this guy.
Karen King
@Nelson Porter
First of all Trump admires fascists govts like Putin's, he wants to be just like him so he can be like a king. More importantly follow the money!
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David R. Amos
@Karen King "First of all Trump admires fascists govts"
Methinks your hero admires the strangest things as well N'esy Pas?
America's staunchest friends are attacked and insulted as adveraries.
America's adversaries are fêted.
The President attacks America's own actions and institutions.
And enables a shrewd manipulator like Putin to avoid the harsh issue of Russian efforts to suborn American electoral processes.
Mark Baker
@thomas stewart
Yup. I wonder if the republicans are getting tiered of winning yet...
David R. Amos
@Mark Baker LOL
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David R. Amos
@thomas stewart Cry me a river
Tom Crelse
Putin looks so smug at the start of the second video on this page. Never in his wildest dreams did he, or any previous Russian leader, ever think they would have an agent of their state in such a high position within the US government. Pretty sad state of affairs.
Marc Belanger
@Tom Crelse I am not sure that DT is a willing or knowing participant. The man answers to flattery alone and is easily manipulated if you make him believe that the idea, any idea, comes from him.
David R. Amos
@Marc Belanger I agree
Brent Grywinski
I think a lot of Republicans are going to turn on Trump for this embarrassing and disgraceful news conference. Trump is Putin's poodle. Putin must have something really awful to hold over Trump.
Karen King
@Brent Grywinski
Haven't seen the apologists yet but then again it's still early for them
David R. Amos
@Karen King Methinks the lady doth jest too much N'esy Pas?
Marco Banino
The US has been compromised at the highest level, and the world must act accordingly. Trump does see the west as a threat for good reason, being they are not aligned with Russia.
Trump will be giving a press conference at 2 pm today. I really cannot wait to see what contortion he will come up with to save face. It should be a doozy. LOL
David R. Amos
@Dave Ryan Methinks at the risk of being redundant to the chagrin of my political foes who type lots of opinions in CBC's domain. I should be allowed me to state what is on my mind on my birthday N'esy Pas?
Welcome to the Circus
Dax Randall
Americans are embarrassed.
Canada supports the people of the USA in spite of Trump.
Eugene D Burles
@Bob Drayer “Most Americans are just like him.”
Not most, just way too many.
David R. Amos
@Eugene D Burles Methinks talk is cheap on the Internet I bet many people would pay to see you say such things to those Yankees while you are standing toe to toe with them N'esy Pas?
Sam Ting
Why doesn't someone call for a passage that will remove Trump from office. CLEARLY he is not fit to be the president of anything let alone the USofA!
David R. Amos
@Sam Ting Methinks you should relax and enjoy the circus Trump will tweet and yap himself out of office if he doesn't give himself a stroke first N'esy Pas?
Teresa Herbert
He could never admit to Russia interfering with the election, because if he did, it would mean he didn't win the vote truly by himself. Therefore he didn't 'win'. He will never admit this. If he does it will mean he failed.
He has Narcissistic personality disorder - characterized by their persistent grandiosity, excessive need for admiration, and a personal disdain and lack of empathy for other people. As such, the person with NPD usually displays arrogance and a distorted sense of superiority, and they seek to establish abusive power and control over others.
Self-confidence (a strong sense of self) is different from narcissistic personality disorder; people with NPD typically value themselves over others to the extent that they openly disregard the feelings and wishes of others, and expect to be treated as superior, regardless of their actual status or achievements.
Moreover, the person with narcissistic personality disorder usually exhibits a fragile ego (self-concept), intolerance of criticism, and a tendency to belittle others in order to validate their own superiority.
If this doesn't truly define him to a T, I don't know what will.
David R. Amos
@Karen King "The Electoral College is a joke"
The whole thing is a joke. Get it yet Lady?
Methinks many ghosts would agree that democracy and justice are myths N'esy Pas?
Brent Grywinski
Trump still thinks it was a great meeting with Putin while everyone else still connected to reality saw it was an absolute disaster. Trump is Putin's poodle.
David R. Amos
@Brent Grywinski "Trump is Putin's poodle."
How so particularly after he changed his tune today?
Ray Stas
It was surreal to watch Trump at the presser deny colluding while colluding with Putin in the same instance.
@Robert Lee Methinks you forgot tat the Democrats are to blame too N'esy Pas?
Graham Greene
The USA has taken down better men for far less reason . . . . . .
This comment is awaiting moderation by the site administrators.
David R. Amos
@Pat Smith 'I thought Nixon was bad but he pales in comparison to Donnie."
Methinks that you hate The Donald so much that you want others to think it is ok to believe Nixon when he claimed he was not a crook about Watergate and politicking but wish to forget he had rained bombs on people he was not at war with N'esy Pas?
Fred Engle
This man should not be potus.
David R. Amos
@Fred Engle "This man should not be potus."
Methinks he was duly elected and still very popular N'esy Pas?
Bryan Atkinson
Ya gotta luv the British tabloids. They're calling Trump, Putin's Poodle.
David R. Amos
@Lily O'Loughlin "George Orwell would have come up with'
Methinks his ghost is likely laughing as hard as I am right now N'esy Pas?
Sam Ting
Sleeper agent, Putin an Trump. At least it looks like Trump left his meeting with Putin with one ball.
Mark Tynthof
@Sam Ting Sleeper cell! Trump along with Manafort, Flynn, etc. just waiting for the right moment to attack U.S. democratic institutions...
David R. Amos
@Mark Tynthof Methinks thou doth jest too much N'esy Pas?
Make no mistake — Trudeau's cabinet shuffle is his re-election kickoff: Chris Hall
LeBlanc, Carr and Blair will have to handle 3 of Trudeau's biggest challenges: Ford, trade and the border
Chris Hall· CBC News· Posted: Jul 18, 2018 5:10 PM ET
1225 Comments
"POOF" David Fuller
Please do NOT re.-elect Trudeau The tax and spend liberals are over
We just kicked them out for good in Ontario
David R. Amos
@David Fuller Methinks we already know who Chris Hall and his CBC cohorts will be voting for N'esy Pas?
"POOF" David Fuller
I predict Trudeau will cry more in 2019
David R. Amos
@David Fuller Methinks I would not bet on it Although the Sunny days are over for the Trudeau The Younger the latest leader of Canada's self described "Natural Governing Party" a lot of folks look at Harper 2.0 as a pretty scary dude N'esy Pas?
Leave it to CBC to give this EVIL LIEbrano lawyer some limelight with some good news byway of a useless opinion in order to take the heat of their bosses N'esy Pas?
---------- Original message ---------- From: "Gallant, Premier Brian (PO/CPM)"<Brian.Gallant@gnb.ca> Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2018 16:21:20 +0000 Subject: RE: Re Trudeau The Younger's cabinet shuffle Methinks the lawyer Melanie Joly still has some explaining to do to Pablo Rodriguez and Minister John Ames N'esy Pas Catherine Tait and To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Thank you for writing to the Premier of New Brunswick. Please be assured that your email will be reviewed.
If this is a media request, please forward your email to media-medias@gnb.camedia-medias@gnb.ca >. Thank you!
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Nous vous remercions d’avoir communiqué avec le premier ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick. Soyez assuré(e) que votre courriel sera examiné.
Si ceci est une demande médiatique, prière de la transmettre à media-medias@gnb.camedia-medias@gnb.ca
>. Merci!
---------- Original message ---------- From: Premier of Ontario | Premier ministre de l’Ontario <Premier@ontario.ca> Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2018 16:21:53 +0000 Subject: Automatic reply: Re Trudeau The Younger's cabinet shuffle Methinks the lawyer Melanie Joly still has some explaining to do to Pablo Rodriguez and Minister John Ames N'esy Pas Catherine Tait and To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Thank you for your email. Your thoughts, comments and input are greatly valued.
You can be assured that all emails and letters are carefully read, reviewed and taken into consideration.
There may be occasions when, given the issues you have raised and the need to address them effectively, we will forward a copy of your correspondence to the appropriate government official. Accordingly, a response may take several business days.
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Merci pour votre courriel. Nous vous sommes très reconnaissants de nous avoir fait part de vos idées, commentaires et observations.
Nous tenons à vous assurer que nous lisons attentivement et prenons en considération tous les courriels et lettres que nous recevons.
Dans certains cas, nous transmettrons votre message au ministère responsable afin que les questions soulevées puissent être traitées de la manière la plus efficace possible. En conséquence, plusieurs jours ouvrables pourraient s’écouler avant que nous puissions vous répondre.
Trudeau cabinet shuffle brings new faces, several changes for run-up to 2019 campaign
Toronto-area MPs Mary Ng and Bill Blair and B.C.'s Jonathan Wilkinson among those added in shakeup
Kathleen Harris· CBC News· Posted: Jul 18, 2018 4:00 AM ET
3610Comments (The tally was 3786 before I refreshed the page)
Commenting is now closed for this story.
"POOF" Mike Trout
Justin...............take the easy way out as you always do, just resign and take that three ring circus of Liberal "ministers" with you. Either you go on your own or we fed up Canadians throw you out in 2019.
ABTL 2019
David R. Amos
@Mike Trout {three ring circus of Liberal "ministers" with you"
As I said many times
Welcome to the Circus
"POOF" Celeste Savoy
This one got lost so just reposting.
How does one shuffle such a "dream team"?
McKenna, gave billions to China and missed Harper's GHG targets.
Monsef - pretty sure she's not here legally.
Billy slick Morneau - well, that's all I'm going to say about that.
Bardish Chagger - perfected the art of deliverologys, which is talking a lot but not saying anyting.
Sajan, the "architect of stolen valour". Goodale, running an open border but hiding all the facts and figures.
Justin Trudeau.....sigh. I can't even go there.
James Fitzgibbon
@Celeste Savoy
alt right blubbering
Ian MacDonald
@Ian MacDonald Oh wait. It wasn't the greens. Ad hominem is Latin...so yeah...
David R. Amos
@Ian MacDonald Methinks many a true word is said in jest N'esy Pas?
Veritas Vincit
Shawn G. Gibson
Please base changes on merit, not identity politics.
David R. Amos
@Shawn G. Gibson Dream on
Richard Sharp
@Shawn G. Gibson
The Trudeau Cabinet is gender balanced for the first time in history and as diverse as ever too. Unlike the “Party of One,” Lib Ministers can speak to the public and the media without prior approval of the buys in short pants’. And we know what they’re doing because their mandate letters have been disclosed for the first time ever too.
Nelson Porter
@david mccaig
Don't slander me with lies. Either reply directly to what I say, with an appropriate and measured response, or don't reply at all. You are completely out of line.
David R. Amos
@Richard Sharp ”Lib Ministers can speak to the public and the media without prior approval of the buys in short pants"
Methinks that just because the girls wear the short pants in the PMO these days is no reason to think anything has changed? Your hero Trudeau the Younger supported Bill C51 before being elected and promised electoral reform etc etc etc Yet I still see the same old same old. Other than the fact that you can smoke dope legally in short order i bet nothing much got better for you either. More importantly Trudeau's recent responses about his past versus his own rules proves he dodges the tough questions just like Harper did and nobody believed him either N'esy Pas?
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David R. Amos
@Nelson Porter Methinks that after 22 comments in one thread alone you would understand his game. Why bother with him? CBC could affirm that he has never dared to answer me not even once yet they deleted a lot of my replies to him for reasons I will never understand N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Nelson Porter "Don't slander me with lies"
Methinks you must have heard of the term "protected asset" N'esy Pas?
Nelson Porter
@David R. Amos
I'm not following you. I made the remark you quoted in response to another that has since been removed.
Hassan Mahmmood
@david mccaig "Are you part of the Russian disruptors that are assigned to target legitimate news sources"
CBC a legitimate news source??? Lol come on be honest how much does CBC pay you to go around their website spewing liberal nonsense? How does it feel stealing from taxpayers?
David R. Amos
@Hassan Mahmmood You nailed it
david mccaig
@Nelson Porter
quote "we can discuss rationally." , haha! you're a Trump MAGA hat wearer, a right wing cult member of Trump, you don't believe the planet is turning into a made made hot house, Trump told you its a Chinese hoax and you ask me why can't we discuss this rationally.
david mccaig
@Hassan Mahmmood
you're part of the new breed of right wing movement who are acting like political anarchists .
David R. Amos
@david mccaig Methinks Mr Left Wingnut who takes delight in slandering others has lost a the true tally of how many times he has proven himself to who he truly is within this thread alone N'esy Pas?
Nelson Porter
@David R. Amos
I refuse to engage mccaig any further. He's overdue for a perma-ban, in my opinion.
karel zyma
Will it still be "gender / racially" balanced? Or will he try to go for competence this time around?
David R. Amos
@karel zyma Methinks our latest PM Trudeau The Younger will no doubt he will do what he thinks ts best for his "Peoplekind" However there is another election in a year or so and the rest of us can vote again N'esy Pas?
david mccaig
@karel zyma
One iof the main reasons the liberal party of British Columbia were defeated by the NDP , is because under Christy Clarke the BC liberals were behaving like right wingers. A Christy Clarke , Justin Trudeau campaigned for i might add.
David R. Amos
@david mccaig "Christy Clarke the BC liberals were behaving like right wingers. A Christy Clarke , Justin Trudeau campaigned for i might add."
Need I say DUHH??? Did ya even notice who Ford just hired to check Ontario's books? Everybody knows the BC liberals are right wingers. if your hero Trudeau The Younger and his minions didn't know that then they will never understand why he is considered a joke. Methinks even you must understand why I am laughing at you N'esy Pas?
david mccaig
@David R. Amos
During a panel on Power and Politics this week, CBC News host Rosemary Barton was forced to stop and explain to confused viewers why Rachel Curran, Stephen Harper’s former Director of Policy, was appearing on their TV screens defending Christy Clark:
“Probably worth reminding people here that Christy Clark is a Liberal in BC but she’s actually sort of a Conservative, so that’s why Rachel is on her side.”
The former senior Harper adviser wouldn’t deny it either, but she did try pass off the BC Liberals as a “coalition” of federal Conservatives and Liberals:
“Yeah, the BC Liberal party is a coalition of federal Liberals and federal Conservatives and I support them, I supported them for a long time openly.”
Shuffling incompetence, still leaves you with incompetence.
David R. Amos
@Rob Preston YUP
Aaron Morris
@Ian MacDonald
But her emails...
Get over it Ian. Not everyone cheers for political parties like sports teams. The vast majority of us are still capable of calling a spade a spade.
...Unlike this "journalist"... who has no problem interchanging the word "irregular" for "illegal" when it comes to migration.
Kham Hammerschmam
@Ian MacDonald
These commenters couldn't pick one of these ministers out in a crowd, let alone detail what "incompetencies" they believe have been carried out.
Ignorance can be frustrating and self-destructive.
David R. Amos
@Kham Hammerschmam "Ignorance can be frustrating and self-destructive."
True and your dog is better looking that me and mine as well
However methinks my political foes know that I know them way better than you do but I doubt you could pick me out of a crowd of commenters One thing I know for certain nobody has heard of you N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Aaron Morris "The vast majority of us are still capable of calling a spade a spade."
I concur
Pete Lindsay
You can't fix or shuffle out stupid, you can only vote it out...RIP Wynne....next Notley...next Trudeau
James Fitzgibbon
@Pete Lindsay
more alt right blubbering
David R. Amos
@Pete Lindsay Methinks you are more "Right" that wrong N'esy Pas?
Jack Goff
@Neil Turv ‘Most adults don't hold grudges or sensationalize perceived past slights.’
What?! Trudeau SR’s name is brought up at every possible chance.
People, especially adults, hold EXTREME grudges.
David R. Amos
@Jack Goff "People, especially adults, hold EXTREME grudges."
Methinks I resemble that remark N'esy Pas?
Kevin Moore
Hopefully as Canadians we will get to shuffle the cabinet soon.
David R. Amos
@Kevin Moore Methinks there is no need to hope It is the law that another election is coming next year N'esy Pas?
Evan Guest
The current version of the cabinet has accomplished exactly nothing. I expect the new version will do the same.
David R. Amos
@Evan Guest I concur
carl tyrell {dit antaya)
@Evan Wait a minute, Trudeau has bought a pipeline with money he borrowed from a unwilling lender. Guess who ?
David R. Amos
@carl tyrell {dit antaya) "Guess who ?"
Methinks I was me and you and the rest of us N'esy Pas?
Abdel-Rafraf Almoutaawaj
Great move buddy. He's shuffling the cabinet to prepare for the elections next year. He certainly did not do anything to trigger the voters, but he also did not do anything to improve people's lives. He just cruised with a few pictures and smiles, just like a charismatic leader would. No substance at all, and there will be none in the 4 years after the elections. He's like the value of a zero to the left of a number without decimals.
Neil Turv
@John Sollows
Beyond the fact that I am pretty much pro free and fair movement of all people pretty much all t he time, I also understand basic math, so I am not filled up with fear over an imagined immigration problem.
Short term issues regarding processing and admittance may need to be addressed but i can more about the colour of the gardens on parliament hill than I care about the amount of people coming to Canada.
I will agree with Abdel that Trudeau has been big on platitudes and simple feel good measures, but very underwhelming on significant and substantive change.
Content disabled.
David R. Amos
@Neil Turv Methinks I should thank you for kinda sorta speaking in my defense the other night but why did you called me redundant in light of the fact that CBC blocks my most important comments? You should not judge me until you have walked in my shoes or at least done a little research to see what I say is true or false N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Neil Turv Methinks we all know why my reply to you was blocked N'esy Pas?
Neil Turv
@David R. Amos
Seems to happen more and more often, but I am actually not sure what you are eluding too
David R. Amos
@Neil Turv Methinks you were the one who kinda sorta defended me the other night N'esy Pas?
Al. Dunn
Shuffling the deck to impress us "un-canadian, peoplekind".. ah..2019
Bill Nazarene
@Al. Dunn
There's that Tiki Torch!
David R. Amos
@Bill Nazarene Go get your own
Robert Heck
So did Wynne, just before the election.
Look where it got her.
You're gone next election Mr. Trudeau. You've wasted 3 years in office, playing at PM. That's about to end. Hopefully, the Conservatives will be able to sort out and fix the mess you've made out of this country, starting with slamming the door on unfettered immigration.
Neil Gregory
@Robert Heck
I, for one, do NOT believe that the Conservative will be any different from the present government. Too man of them have swallowed Harper's Reformacon nonsense, hook, line, and sinker.
David R. Amos
@Neil Gregory "I, for one, do NOT believe that the Conservative will be any different from the present government"
Me Too
Jaymie Pastoor
Some Canadians hate Trump, some love him, but we all agree Trudeau is incompetent and has to go
David R. Amos
@Jaymie Pastoor Methinks you are just trying to pick a fight N'esy Pas?
George Abbott
Regrettably, all of the senior cabinet posts will not be shuffled, all of the present cronies will remain there. Freeland, Morneau, McKenna, Bains, Brison, Goodale, Sajjan will retain their positions, therefore, nothing has changed.
Elaine Hancock
@George Abbott I suspect Goodale would be gone, but Saskatchewan only elected one Liberal so he is guaranteed a Ministerial post even though he doesn’t fit the feminist and diversity Schlick.
David R. Amos
@George Abbott I agree
David R. Amos
@Elaine Hancock "I suspect Goodale would be gone"
Methinks it is because that old lawyer knows where all the bones are buried and the liberals can't be rid of him as easy as shipping him overseas as they did with McCallum and Dion N'esy Pas?
Jeff McKellar
Maybe this time he'll choose people based on their ability, not their gender.
Because it's 2018, and time to dump the identity politics nonsense that plagues our society.
Angela Beer
@Bob Black
If someone picked me for a job simply because I was female and not based on merit, I'd be quite insulted.
David R. Amos
@Angela Beer "If someone picked me for a job simply because I was female and not based on merit, I'd be quite insulted."
Methinks the government should hire you because of your common sense Its such a rather thing these days N'esy Pas?
Joyce Hope Shortell
Trudeau & his cabinet have left Canada divided. Shuffling won't matter. 2019 will determine if Canadians have had enough of liberal idealism.
Spencer McDougall
@Joyce Hope Shortell Hate to correct you but 2019 WILL determine that Canadians have had enough of this nonsense.
Jim S Powers
@Joyce Hope Shortell you said the last time you posted several days ago
Gary Norton
@Jim S Powers good news is worth repeating.
David R. Amos
@Gary Norton "good news is worth repeating."
Methinks the liberals use that tool all the time N'esy Pas?
Randolph F Whelan
I guess CBC and the staunch Liberals have already given Trudeau a free pass on Creston.
David R. Amos
@Randolph F Whelan "Trudeau a free pass on Creston"
Whats a Creston?
Mike Murphy
I hope that Catherine McKenna remains in place as environment minister. Her abrasive manner, dismissive attitude and condescending, lecturing tone is turning Canadians nation wide away from this governments carbon tax grab. Right now almost half the country's provincial governments either have or will reject Trudeau carbon tax. Saskatchewan and Manitoba have already walked away, Ontario just killed their carbon tax, the PEI provincial government has said they are walking away and when Jason Kenney become Alberta premier next spring his first order will be the scrapping of the provincial carbon tax. Canadian don't want higher gas bills and home heating costs.
Pete Lindsay
@Mike Murphy your description of McKenna is bang on, a perfect Liberal, takes almost no action other than optics and claims she knows better than the rest of us... Only in Ottawa would they elect someone like her
David R. Amos
@Pete Lindsay Methinks folks would be amazed that I agree with Murphy as well Heres hoping nobody tells him because he does not bother to red my comments N'esy Pas?
Heath Tierney
Minister Blair, they're not "irregular." They're illegal border crossers.
Big difference.
David R. Amos
@Heath Tierney "Big difference."
YUP
Methinks a bigtime an ex cop should know it N'esy Pas?
Orv Murton
Better keep that gender, diversity balance over people who would actually do the job better.
David R. Amos
@Orv Murton Methinks you agree that it is nothing to brag about N'esy Pas?
Mike Trout
2018 Ontario kicks the Wynne Liberals out of power. 2019 Canada does the same to the Trudeau Liberals.
ABL 2019
Keith Newcastle
@Mike Trout : You forgot BC
David R. Amos
@Mike Trout "three ring circus of Liberal "ministers" with you"
As I said many times
Welcome to the Circus
Celeste Savoy
I'm not sure it'll do much good. You can stir a polluted lagoon all you'd like, but in the end it'll still smell bad.
David R. Amos
@Celeste Savoy True
Methinks its too bad that your popular comment went "POOF" so its only fair to inform you that I saved it N'esy Pas?
Celeste Savoy
This one got lost so just reposting.
How does one shuffle such a "dream team"?
McKenna, gave billions to China and missed Harper's GHG targets.
Monsef - pretty sure she's not here legally.
Billy slick Morneau - well, that's all I'm going to say about that.
Bardish Chagger - perfected the art of deliverologys, which is talking a lot but not saying anyting.
Sajan, the "architect of stolen valour".
Goodale, running an open border but hiding all the facts and figures.
Justin Trudeau.....sigh. I can't even go there.
Mo Jones
Sorry, but the photo of Jim Carr and Trudeau hugging is a little on the creepy side, Canada.
Karen King
@Mo Jones
says the newbie WB
Daryll Mcbain
@Karen King Compared to the Russian bot?
Karen O'Connor
@Karen King
So how many posts does one need to have in order for their opinion to matter? I agree with @Mo Jones that the picture is creepy. And what is WB?
David R. Amos
@Karen O'Connor "I agree with @Mo Jones that the picture is creepy. "
Me Too
William Davis
Liberals = Khadr, Atwal, Boyle, Khan, 60 Isis returnee and 60000 illegals... shuffle away.. your all gone in 2019
Sam Samnah
@William Davis Don't forget dropping the NAFTA ball, Trade war and NATO Obligations.
David R. Amos
@Sam Samnah YUP
Dean Melanson
Leftwing media hype over mr dressups "shuffle" ..... you can move piles ... but you can't shine them ...
David R. Amos
@Dean Melanson Methinks that your comment is similar to what Boris was talking about polishing last week N'esy Pas?
Mike Smith
CBC doing their best to put a good Liberal spin on this sinking ship. Captain JT will go down with the ship. RIP Liberal Party of Canada.
David R. Amos
@Mike Smith "CBC doing their best to put a good Liberal spin on this sinking ship"
YUP
Brian Allen
A shuffle of the cards....... but we’ve still got a joker at the top of the pile.
Pat Ferraro
@Brian Allen - Best post so far
Angela Beer
@Pat Ferraro
Agreed.
David R. Amos
@Angela Beer I concur
Make no mistake — Trudeau's cabinet shuffle is his re-election kickoff: Chris Hall
LeBlanc, Carr and Blair will have to handle 3 of Trudeau's biggest challenges: Ford, trade and the border
Mary Ng is hugged by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after being sworn in as minister of small business and export promotion during a ceremony at Rideau Hall on Wednesday. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)
Justin Trudeau kicked off his 2019 re-election campaign Wednesday with a cabinet shuffle that puts management of three of the most vexing challenges his government faces into new hands. Dominic LeBlanc becomes the prime minister's point man with the provinces.
It will be his job to deal with a more strident set of premiers than when the Liberals took power three years ago. It will be his task to blunt attacks from an emerging coalition of conservative-minded premiers, led by Saskatchewan's Scott Moe and Ontario's Doug Ford, who oppose Ottawa's plan to impose a price on carbon and want to reopen the equalization program.
Jim Carr moves over from Natural Resources to serve as minister for the rebranded Department of International Trade Diversification.
With the vast majority of trade depending on the U.S. and its not-so-predictable president, Donald Trump, finding new markets for Canadian goods is taking on increasing significance for a government that has tied middle-class prosperity to expanding trade relations in Asia, South America and Europe.
And perhaps most significant of all, former Toronto police chief Bill Blair is being handed responsibility for border security and reducing organized crime, as head of a new department whose precise mandate seemed unclear even to him.
"The appointment the prime minister has given me, I think, reflects how seriously this government takes the safety of all of its citizens," Blair told reporters after being sworn in.
"And certainly issues with respect to border security and organized crime are related to that, those safety responsibilities."
All about 2019
Whatever the role turns out to be in practice, Blair's primary marching orders are entirely political. He's to reassure Canadians that the border with the U.S. is secure, that the federal government will reduce gun violence in cities like Toronto and that the people entering this country to claim asylum are legitimate refugees.
These are the Big 3 in a cabinet shuffle that included five new faces, each strategically selected to promote regional and ethnic diversity all while maintaining gender balance.
Dominic LeBlanc, left to right, Jim Carr, Melanie Joly, Amarjeet Sohi and Carla Qualtrough attend today's swearing-in ceremony for Trudeau's new cabinet. (Patrick Doyle/Canadian Press)
LeBlanc, Carr and Blair are the three ministers whose actions will be most closely watched. The three against whom the government's record will most likely be measured when Canadians head to the polls just over a year from now.
Make no mistake. This shuffle is all about positioning ahead of the next election.
The Liberals' path to another majority depends on winning more seats in Ontario and Quebec, and holding as many seats as possible in urban ridings across the country.
Fighting the Conservatives on fear
With that in mind, it's never too early to start laying the groundwork. Especially since the Liberals are showing signs of losing control over issues such as immigration that threaten to undermine public support for the government.
It's never too early to try to neutralize criticism of how the government is handling the big files that will feature prominently in the Liberals' re-election campaign.
Trudeau acknowledged as much when he explained why he chose Blair.
He said a big part of Blair's job will be to combat the Conservatives' narrative, led by federal leader Andrew Scheer and Ford, that the tens of thousands of migrants entering Canada via dead-end roads in Quebec, or farmers' fields in Manitoba, are proof the government has no plan and no money to deal with a border crisis.
Trudeau reverted to the old line that the Conservatives are playing on Canadians' fears.
"When Conservatives across the country are playing the fear card, we need strong, re-assuring voices to counter that," he said, "and to demonstrate that the safety and security of Canadians in their communities is something that we will never flinch on, that we will continue to deliver and we will deliver in a way that pulls Canadians together instead of dividing them, like the Conservatives tend to be doing."
The Conservatives enjoyed great success in the past by portraying the Liberals as soft on crime. Their message is largely the same now about the border.
Deputy leader Lisa Raitt said the "thousands of illegal crossings" can be traced back to the prime minister's tweet in January 2017 that welcomed people to Canada after Trump put a temporary ban on new refugees.
"It's time now to have a plan to deal with the problems and the aftermath. Not a Band-Aid solution," she said Wednesday. "And what has been the response? Well, the response has been to appoint another cabinet minister."
Blair will face serious challenges. His department doesn't yet exist. It will have to be hived away from Public Safety and Immigration.
He doesn't speak French, a shortcoming highlighted immediately by Quebec journalists given the largest influx of asylum seekers is in that province.
And there's a history of bad blood between him and Doug Ford dating back to 2013, when Blair was Toronto police chief and his force was investigating Ford's late brother, Rob, who was then the city's mayor.
How well the two can work together is an open question.
The prime minister wants Canadians to be reassured by this cabinet shuffle. The question now is will it be enough to reassure Liberals of a return to power next year.
Politics News
Conservatives say Blair appointment won't help relations between Ford and Trudeau
00:0000:49
Conservative MP Lisa Raitt gave her party's reaction to today's cabinet shuffle 0:49
About the Author
Chris Hall
National Affairs Editor
Chris Hall is the CBC's National Affairs Editor and host of The House on CBC Radio, based in the Parliamentary Bureau in Ottawa. He began his reporting career with the Ottawa Citizen, before moving to CBC Radio in 1992, where he worked as a national radio reporter in Toronto, Halifax and St. John's. He returned to Ottawa and the Hill in 1998.
Trudeau cabinet shuffle brings new faces, several changes for run-up to 2019 campaign
Toronto-area MPs Mary Ng and Bill Blair and B.C.'s Jonathan Wilkinson among those added in shakeup
Kathleen Harris· CBC News· Posted: Jul 18, 2018 4:00 AM ET
Last Updated: an hour ago
Jim Carr hugs Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after being sworn in as Minister of International Trade during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa today. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made significant changes to his cabinet, bringing five new ministers to the table and creating new portfolios for seniors, intergovernmental affairs and border security.
The retooled cabinet signals the government intends to ease trade dependence on the U.S. and bolster political forces in key regions in the run-up to next year's federal election.
In one surprise move, Bill Blair, a former Toronto police chief who has been the government's point man on the marijuana legalization file, was appointed minister of border security and organized crime reduction. He will also be in charge of managing the hot-button issue of irregular migration with asylum seekers crossing into Canada from the U.S.
Other new ministers added to the cabinet today:
Mary Ng, a former staffer in Trudeau's office who was recently elected in a Markham-Thornhill byelection, becomes minister for small business and export promotion.
Filomena Tassi, a Hamilton MP, becomes minister for seniors.
Vancouver MP Jonathan Wilkinson becomes minister of fisheries, oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.
Pablo Rodriguez, who was serving as chief government whip, becomes minister of heritage and multiculturalism.
Ministers with new or changed duties:
Dominic LeBlanc moves from Fisheries and Oceans to Intergovernmental Affairs, Northern Affairs and Internal Trade.
Amarjeet Sohi moves from Infrastructure to Natural Resources.
Carla Qualtrough, remains minister of public services and procurement and gets the added portfolio of Accessibility.
Jim Carr moves from Natural Resources to International Trade Diversification.
Mélanie Joly goes from Heritage to minister of tourism, official languages and la francophonie.
François-Philippe Champagne moves from International Trade to Infrastructure and Communities.
A release from the Prime Minister's Office said the new cabinet will put a focus on innovation and trade, while building stronger relations with the provinces and securing the border.
"The changes to the ministry will place an even greater focus on diversifying international trade, supporting and growing small businesses, expanding tourism, promoting our exports and improving trade within our own borders," the release said.
LeBlanc's new portfolio could see a fair bit of action with a new premier in Ontario, elections on the horizon in New Brunswick, Quebec and Alberta, and with simmering disputes over pipelines, carbon taxes and interprovincial trade.
The cabinet shakeup boosts the number of ministers from Ontario and Quebec, where the Liberals need to win more seats in the next election to offset potential losses elsewhere.
Carr's appointment signals the government's intention to further diversify trade away from the U.S. Blair's new portfolio comes after a heated exchange between Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen and Ontario's new provincial minister in charge of the file, Lisa MacLeod.
Today, MacLeod welcomed Blair to the post in a tweet, offering her congratulations and asking to meet soon.
I enjoyed a productive chat with Bill on Sunday during our flight from Ottawa to Toronto and was pleased to drive him home. I’ve already reached out today to offer my congratulations and I look forward to meeting with him soon.
Blair's promotion and new file could be designed to reassure the Americans, and the PMO said his chief role will be to strengthen the border.
In a news conference, Trudeau said the new portfolio will also help reassure Quebecers and all Canadians that the rules around the border will be followed "to the letter."
"We remain focused on effectively managing the arrival of irregular migrants, assessing asylum seekers, making our system more efficient and preventing the flow of illegal drugs and firearms into our communities," the PMO said in a release.
The timing of today's shuffle gives Trudeau an opportunity to put his best players on the pitch before the campaign, said David Moscrop, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University. With no significant scandals or major blunders raging, it makes sense for the prime minister to keep key ministers in place while lightly demoting underperformers and promoting up-and-comers.
By expanding the cabinet, Trudeau's selection of new ministers could help give credibility and prominence to key issues and MPs in critical regions ahead of the October 2019 race, he said.
"Strategically speaking, as a government ahead of an election, I can't see any downside unless somebody screws up. I suppose there's always a risk that someone's going to disgrace themselves," he said.
Before today's shuffle there were 30 members of cabinet, including Trudeau, evenly split by gender. The new cabinet has 35 members including Trudeau, with 17 women and 18 men.
Trudeau did not shuffle any of his top ministers in key files, including Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.
Timed with election
University of Toronto political scientist Nelson Wiseman said the shuffle is timed to gear up for next year's campaign.
"It's not uncommon for governments to do this at this point, because if they start shuffling too close to an election day, the closer it gets, the more they get exposed to the charge they're admitting things aren't going well," he said. "You're really now desperate, you're splashing the paint around too loosely."
It has become common practice for an incoming government to shrink the size of cabinet to project an image of saving money and controlling bureaucracy, Wiseman said, then to expand it closer to an election for political advantage.
Trudeau's first major cabinet shakeup was on Jan. 10, 2017, when he appointed Freeland to Foreign Affairs as part of a strategy to bolster the front-line ministers who deal with the Trump administration.
As part of that overhaul, veteran ministers John McCallum and Stéphane Dion were left out of the circle and instead offered diplomatic posts.
Lawyer pushes for pot pardons once drug becomes legal
Folks don’t take your marijuana in your cars, says a New Brunswick criminal lawyer
Elizabeth Fraser· CBC News·
Hampton lawyer David Lutz says people convicted of marijuana possession should be pardoned when pot becomes legal in October. (CBC )
A New Brunswick criminal lawyer says people previously convicted of marijuana possession should be pardoned once pot becomes legal.
"It's something the government can simply do with the stroke of a pen," said David Lutz, who was once a federal drug prosecutor for the province.
Starting Oct. 17, Canadians will be allowed to use cannabis without criminal penalties.
Lutz said people convicted of possession under existing or old laws, should not have to carry the criminal record.
And the pardon should apply to anyone ever charged with possession, the Hampton lawyer said. Lutz said he experienced something similar in the United States after his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War 50 years ago. In 1977, former president Jimmy Carter pardoned men who evaded the draft.
Lutz, who moved to Canada to avoid Vietnam, said there's no record of his refusal unless someone wanted to dig through the archives.
"I've been allowed to go back since then," Lutz said of his native country. "That's the power of the prime minister or the president."
Everybody 'calm down'
Meanwhile, as Canada waits for the legalization of marijuana, "everybody needs to calm down," Lutz said.
"When I say everybody, it's the law enforcement people, also the people in the past who have used marijuana and are looking forward to the legalization," he said in an interview with Information Morning Fredericton.
Over the past 10 to 15 years, he said, police have been using their discretion. They don't go out of their way to arrest people for having a joint or even "three or four joints" in their pocket.
Lutz, who was once pardoned himself — for evading the U.S. draft — says police have used discretion in recent years in dealing with people carrying small amounts of marijuana. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
"That discretion has worked well over the past few years," Lutz said.
At the same time, he cautioned potentially careless people by citing the Kenny Rogers song Don't Take Your Guns to Town.
"Folks, don't take your marijuana in your cars," he said.
He said the people who should be worried these days are drug dealers themselves.
An end for weed traffickers
"Those people are going to have to realize that they're going to be out of business," he said.
"If you can go down to the legal pot dispensary regulated by the government in 12 weeks, to me those people who were previously selling just have to recognize that's the end."
And people smoking marijuana do not cause the kind of problems that people who use alcohol do, he said.
"People who smoke marijuana, in my experience, they stay home and, if anything, they eat too many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, as opposed to driving recklessly in their cars … getting in fights and committing crimes," he said.
With files from Information Morning Fredericton
Trudeau cabinet shuffle brings new faces, several changes for run-up to 2019 campaign
Toronto-area MPs Mary Ng and Bill Blair and B.C.'s Jonathan Wilkinson among those added in shakeup
Kathleen Harris· CBC News· Posted: Jul 18, 2018 4:00 AM ET
LIVE
CBC News
CBC News special: Trudeau cabinet shuffle LIVE
00:00LIVE
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to introduce some new faces into his cabinet today with a mid-summer shuffle. Vassy Kapelos hosts live coverage. 0:00
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made significant changes to his cabinet, bringing five new ministers to the table and creating new portfolios for seniors, intergovernmental affairs and border security. New ministers added to the cabinet today:
Mary Ng, a former staffer in Trudeau's office who was recently elected in a Markham-Thornhill byelection, becomes minister for small business and export promotion.
Bill Blair, a former Toronto police chief who has been the government's point man on the marijuana legalization file, becomes minister of border security and organized crime reduction.
Filomena Tassi, a Hamilton MP, becomes minister for seniors.
Vancouver MP Jonathan Wilkinson becomes minister of fisheries, oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.
Pablo Rodriguez, who was serving as chief government whip, becomes minister of heritage and multiculturalism.
Ministers with new or changed duties:
Dominic LeBlanc moves from Fisheries and Oceans to Intergovernmental Affairs, Northern Affairs and Internal Trade.
Amarjeet Sohi moves from Infrastructure to Natural Resources.
Carla Qualtrough, remains minister of public services and procurement and gets the added portfolio of Accessibility.
Jim Carr moves from Natural Resources to International Trade Diversification.
Mélanie Joly goes from Heritage to minister of tourism, official languages and la francophonie.
François-Philippe Champagne moves from International Trade to Infrastructure and Communities.
A news release from the Prime Minister's Office said the new cabinet will put a focus on innovation and trade, while building stronger relations with the provinces and securing the border.
"The changes to the ministry will place an even greater focus on diversifying international trade, supporting and growing small businesses, expanding tourism, promoting our exports and improving trade within our own borders," the release said.
LeBlanc's new portfolio could see a fair bit of action with a new premier in Ontario, elections on the horizon in New Brunswick, Quebec and Alberta, and with simmering disputes over pipelines, carbon taxes and interprovincial trade.
The cabinet shakeup boosts the number of ministers from Ontario and Quebec, where the Liberals need to win more seats in the next election to offset potential losses elsewhere.
LIVE
CBC News
Trudeau on new cabinet LIVE
00:00LIVE
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes questions following a cabinet shuffle Wednesday morning. 0:00
Carr's appointment signals the government's intention to further diversify trade away from the U.S. Blair's new portfolio will also include management of the asylum-seeker file.
"We remain focused on effectively managing the arrival of irregular migrants, assessing asylum seekers, making our system more efficient and preventing the flow of illegal drugs and firearms into our communities," the PMO said.
CBC News has special live coverage of the cabinet shuffle hosted by Vassy Kapelos of Power & Politics beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET here at CBCNews.ca and on CBC News Network, Facebook and YouTube.
The timing of today's shuffle gives Trudeau an opportunity to put his best players on the pitch before the campaign, said David Moscrop, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University. With no significant scandals or major blunders raging, it makes sense for the prime minister to keep key ministers in place while lightly demoting underperformers and promoting up-and-comers.
By expanding the cabinet, Trudeau's selection of new ministers could help give credibility and prominence to key issues and MPs in critical regions ahead of the October 2019 race, he said. "Strategically speaking, as a government ahead of an election, I can't see any downside unless somebody screws up. I suppose there's always a risk that someone's going to disgrace themselves," he said.
Before today's shuffle there were 30 members of cabinet, including Trudeau, evenly split by gender. The new cabinet has 35 members including Trudeau, with 17 women and 18 men.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet, seen here at the cabinet retreat in London, Ont., in January, will have some new faces and some key ministers will have new responsibilities with today's cabinet shuffle. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)
Trudeau did not shuffle any of his top ministers in key files, including Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.
Timed with election
University of Toronto political scientist Nelson Wiseman said the shuffle is timed to gear up for next year's campaign.
"It's not uncommon for governments to do this at this point, because if they start shuffling too close to an election day, the closer it gets, the more they get exposed to the charge they're admitting things aren't going well," he said. "You're really now desperate, you're splashing the paint around too loosely."
It has become common practice for an incoming government to shrink the size of cabinet to project an image of saving money and controlling bureaucracy, Wiseman said, then to expand it closer to an election for political advantage.
Trudeau's first major cabinet shakeup was on Jan. 10, 2017, when he appointed Freeland to Foreign Affairs as part of a strategy to bolster the front-line ministers who deal with the Trump administration.
As part of that overhaul, veteran ministers John McCallum and Stéphane Dion were left out of the circle and instead offered diplomatic posts.
About the Author
Kathleen Harris
Senior Writer
Kathleen Harris is a senior writer in the CBC's Parliament Hill bureau. She covers politics, immigration, justice and corrections. Follow her on Twitter @ottawareporter
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---------- Original message ---------- From: "Fine, Sean"<SFine@globeandmail.com> Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2018 20:54:18 +0000 Subject: Automatic reply: Attn Lisa Thompson RE Glen Canning and his cohorts torturing Doug Ford about Sex Ed I just called again from 902 800 0359 and left another voicemail To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
---------- Original message ---------- From: Premier of Ontario | Premier ministre de l’Ontario <Premier@ontario.ca> Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2018 19:57:33 +0000 Subject: Automatic reply: Attn Lisa Thompson RE Glen Canning and his cohorts torturing Doug Ford about Sex Ed I just called again from 902 800 0359 and left another voicemail To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Thank you for your email. Your thoughts, comments and input are greatly valued.
You can be assured that all emails and letters are carefully read, reviewed and taken into consideration.
There may be occasions when, given the issues you have raised and the need to address them effectively, we will forward a copy of your correspondence to the appropriate government official. Accordingly, a response may take several business days.
Thanks again for your email. ______
Merci pour votre courriel. Nous vous sommes très reconnaissants de nous avoir fait part de vos idées, commentaires et observations.
Nous tenons à vous assurer que nous lisons attentivement et prenons en considération tous les courriels et lettres que nous recevons.
Dans certains cas, nous transmettrons votre message au ministère responsable afin que les questions soulevées puissent être traitées de la manière la plus efficace possible. En conséquence, plusieurs jours ouvrables pourraient s’écouler avant que nous puissions vous répondre.
Father of bullying victim Rehtaeh Parsons calls Ford's sex-ed repeal 'infuriating'
Premier Doug Ford took his seat in the Ontario Legislative Assembly for the first time on Wednesday, July 11. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press)
---------- Original message ---------- From: Premier of Ontario | Premier ministre de l’Ontario <Premier@ontario.ca> Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2018 19:57:33 +0000 Subject: Automatic reply: Attn Lisa Thompson RE Glen Canning and his cohorts torturing Doug Ford about Sex Ed I just called again from 902 800 0359 and left another voicemail To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Thank you for your email. Your thoughts, comments and input are greatly valued.
You can be assured that all emails and letters are carefully read, reviewed and taken into consideration.
There may be occasions when, given the issues you have raised and the need to address them effectively, we will forward a copy of your correspondence to the appropriate government official. Accordingly, a response may take several business days.
Thanks again for your email. ______
Merci pour votre courriel. Nous vous sommes très reconnaissants de nous avoir fait part de vos idées, commentaires et observations.
Nous tenons à vous assurer que nous lisons attentivement et prenons en considération tous les courriels et lettres que nous recevons.
Dans certains cas, nous transmettrons votre message au ministère responsable afin que les questions soulevées puissent être traitées de la manière la plus efficace possible. En conséquence, plusieurs jours ouvrables pourraient s’écouler avant que nous puissions vous répondre.
U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton looks on as U.S. President Donald Trump holds a news conference after participating in the NATO Summit in Brussels, Belgium July 12, 2018. (Reinhard Krause/Reuters)
Listen to the full episode48:30
U.S. President Donald Trump took his confrontational approach to diplomacy to the NATO summit this week, where he sideswiped his fellow alliance leaders with a litany of accusations, questionable demands on spending levels and a sudden threat to pull out of the alliance entirely.
That has left national leaders — Canada's included — asking the same question they've been asking for almost two years now: what can be done to mitigate Trump's tactics?
Not much, says former Conservative defence minister Peter MacKay. His advice? "Keep calm and carry on."
MacKay told The House today that Canada needs to keep its focus on building its military capability, contributing to NATO missions and working toward other alliance goals. Beyond that, he said, there's little anyone outside the U.S. can do to rein in the president's behaviour.
Trump has been pushing for the 29 allied nations that make up NATO to speed up their commitment to increasing defence spending to two per cent of GDP — a goal set in 2014 with a 10-year deadline.
Currently, most NATO nations aren't hitting that target. Trump emerged from the summit claiming he'd pressured the members into meeting his demands — although French President Emmanuel Macron quickly shot that claim down, pointing out that the summit communique only committed the allies to the two per cent target set before Trump was elected.
The House
Interview - Peter MacKay
00:0008:38
Former Conservative cabinet minister Peter MacKay talks about how Canada should deal with Donald Trump in the aftermath of this week's NATO summit. 8:38
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada hadn't committed to spending new money on defence at this week's meeting in Belgium, but pointed to his government's plan to increase the defence budget by 70 per cent over the next decade to $32.7 billion.
In the middle of the meetings, Trump shifted the goalposts suddenly and argued that the spending benchmark should be increased to four per cent of GDP. Behind closed doors, his rhetoric was apparently alarming enough for NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to call an emergency session of leaders.
The National
Trump claims NATO victory, Trudeau indirectly disagrees
00:0002:19
U.S. President Donald Trump is claiming a victory, saying he's gotten NATO's members to spend two per cent of their GDP on defence by 2024. 2:19
NBC News reported that Trump's threats to reassess the United States' commitment to NATO sent the Pentagon into damage control mode, with officials immediately reaching out to reassure their European counterparts.
Focus on the alliance, not Trump: retired general
It would be "impossible" for Trump to unilaterally pull out of NATO, Ben Hodges, a retired U.S. lieutenant general who led the NATO Allied Land Command, told The House.
But he can still do the alliance a lot of damage, he added.
"Cohesion of the members of the alliance is our centre of gravity," he said. "It's unfortunate when any leader pounds other members."
He added he thinks Trump has no understanding of how NATO works, although his advisers do. Hodges said Trump has a valid point — that allies should be spending more on defence — but his fixation on the two per cent target is blinding him to the fact that NATO partners make other types of contributions.
Earlier this week, Trudeau announced that, beginning in the fall, Canada will assume command of a NATO training mission in Iraq for its first year, with a commitment of up to 250 troops and four helicopters.
Trump may not count that as a contribution to the GDP goal, Hodges said — but that just shows that spending isn't the only yardstick for measuring the alliance's success.
"This is not about satisfying the American president. This is about allies contributing to their share of the burden."
Matt DeCourcey, Parliamentary secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, told The House Canada will continue to remain a "committed contributor" to NATO.
The House
Interview - Matt DeCourcey
00:0006:24
The parliamentary secretary to the foreign affairs talks about this week's NATO summit in Brussels. 6:24
That might fall on deaf ears in the U.S., but MacKay said it's an important factor in stabilizing the alliance.
NATO is arguably the most important international organization Canada takes part in, and is "as important now as it ever was," he said.
That emphasis on solidarity will be key heading into Monday's meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"The happiest guy on the planet right now is Vladimir Putin because he's watching the American president swing a wrecking ball towards the alliance," Hodges said.
"We're doing the job that Putin would normally have to do himself."
The House
Interview - Ben Hodges
00:0005:53
Retired U.S. Lieutenant. General Ben Hodges talks about this week's NATO summit in Brussels. 5:53
Unity vital between premiers as trade battle brews, Gallant says
New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant is chairing the annual gathering of Canada's premiers next week. (Stephen MacGillivray/Canadian Press)
Despite the conflicting policy views held by some of Canada's premiers, New Brunswick's Premier Brian Gallant is urging them to remain united as Canada faces an onslaught of trade challenges from the U.S.
Tensions between the provinces have been high in the past year — especially out west, where British Columbia and Alberta have been feuding over a thwarted expansion project for the Trans Mountain pipeline. Ottawa ended up buying the pipeline from Kinder Morgan for $4.5 billion.
Gallant, who is hosting next week's annual premiers meeting in New Brunswick, said he fully expects that topic to come up, along with the perennial irritant of interprovincial trade.
No matter what the dividing issues are this year, however, he said he's hoping all premiers keep an open mind.
"I think it's going to be very important as premiers to be as united as possible," he told CBC Radio's The House.
"There's a lot more that binds us together than divides us."
Remaining cohesive is key, given the trade war percolating between Canada and the U.S., Gallant said. "Trade in all of its aspects will be top of mind next week."
Canada moved forward at the beginning of the month with $16 billion in tariffs against our southern neighbour — retaliation for U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imposed a month before. Gallant is advocating a "quicker" approach to getting an interprovincial free trade agreement up and running and said he expects his counterparts will agree, given the sour atmosphere hanging over trade talks with the U.S.
International and interprovincial trade aren't the only topics that have been causing friction in the federation lately.
The federal government has been under fire recently for renewing the existing equalization formula for another five years despite strong objections from some provinces. The extension kicks in next year. Equalization, which is based on a highly complex formula, is designed to help poorer provincial governments provide public services that are reasonably comparable to those in other provinces.
Saskatchewan has expressed its displeasure with the federal government's methods for calculating equalization payments and its government has suggested an alternative plan.
Premier Scott Moe made a formal request to add equalization to the meeting's agenda, Gallant said, but that schedule was solidified weeks ago.
He told guest host Katie Simpson he'd invited Moe to bring it up in the open portion of the meeting. The premiers will be in St. Andrews, N.B., from July 18-20.
The House
Interview - Brian Gallant
00:0013:25
New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant looks ahead to next week's meeting of the Council of the Federation. 13:25
Father of bullying victim Rehtaeh Parsons calls Ford's sex-ed repeal 'infuriating'
Premier Doug Ford took his seat in the Ontario Legislative Assembly for the first time on Wednesday, July 11. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press)
The father of a girl who died after a suicide attempt that followed months of bullying and an alleged sexual assault says the Ontario government's decision to repeal the province's sex education curriculum will put more teens in danger.
On Wednesday, the newly-elected Progressive Conservative government of Premier Doug Ford announced the sex-ed curriculum to be taught to children in the coming school year will be an older version — not the controversial updated program brought in by the previous government.
The curriculum will revert back to the version taught in 1998, excluding recently added topics such as same-sex marriage, masturbation, online bullying and sexting.
"It's infuriating to see them do this," Glen Canning told CBC Radio's The House on Friday, adding that teaching consent in schools might have made all the difference for his daughter, Rehtaeh Parsons.
In November 2011, the Nova Scotia teen attended a party where she said she was sexually assaulted. An explicit photo was taken during the incident — one that would be spread among the kids at her school and lead to months of online bullying.
Seventeen-year-old Rehtaeh was taken off life support in April 2013 after attempting suicide.
The National
Rehtaeh Parsons' death changed the conversation about sexual assault and consent
00:0004:44
When Rehtaeh Parsons died following a suicide attempt, a national conversation was sparked on how people address sexual assault and consent. The outrage over her death, and what led to it, is still felt five years later, especially in her home community of Cole Harbour, N.S. CBC News spoke to family and friends of Parsons' about her legacy. 4:44
Canning said he believes that if Ontario's modernized — and soon to be replaced — sex ed curriculum had been in place in Nova Scotia at the time, his daughter might still be alive.
"I think I'd still have my daughter with me right now."
Canning said repealing the curriculum means children and teens in Ontario won't learn about topics that can help them feel safer in school — like consent, LGBT issues and sexual violence.
He accused Ford of scrapping the curriculum to appease his party's socially-conservative voters. Ford's new education minister, Lisa Thompson, said the government is planning to consult with parents on a new curriculum to replace the one adopted in 2015.
But Canning said too many parents are failing to teach their kids the facts about sex, sexual exploitation and bullying now. If schools and parents fail to address these topics properly, he said, more teens will suffer the way his daughter did.
"What happened to my daughter was preventable ... it was preventable with a good sex education program."
The House
Interview - Glen Canning
00:0006:25
Rehtaeh Parsons's father, Glen Canning, explains why he strongly disagrees with the Ontario government's decision to scrap its modernized sex education curriculum. 6:25
When the Ontario government introduced its new sex-ed curriculum in 2015, Glen Canning was living several provinces over in Nova Scotia, but decided to take a look anyway.
He wound up reading the entire curriculum — all 239 pages — and when he finished, his thoughts immediately went to his daughter, Rehtaeh Parsons, who died from suicide two years earlier.
“The very first thing I thought was every single school in Canada has to have this. Every single one,” said Canning, a writer and photographer who now lives in Toronto.
“I really wished there was something like that in Nova Scotia 10 years ago. Because if there was — and if consent and empathy and respect were being taught in schools in Nova Scotia — I honestly believe that I would still have my daughter with me today.”
Rehtaeh was 17 years old when she killed herself. Her parents say she told them she was sexually assaulted by four teens at a party in 2011, and she became suicidal after a photo from that night — depicting a boy penetrating Rehtaeh while giving a thumbs-up — was circulated around town, leading to months of bullying and harassment.
Rehtaeh’s story sparked a national conversation around issues of rape and consent, as well as an independent review that found errors in how her case was investigated.
While no sexual assault charges were ultimately laid, two boys were convicted of child pornography charges.
For Canning, his daughter’s suffering opened his eyes to the importance of sexual education in schools. So when he learned the Doug Ford government was scrapping Ontario’s updated sex-ed curriculum — and replacing it with a version written 20 years ago — he took to Twitter to express his outrage.
In one tweet, he shared a note that he says was written by one of the boys alleged to have assaulted his daughter that was posted to Facebook around the time of her death. The boy described his version of what happened between him and Rehtaeh, who was so drunk she was vomiting out a window. The boy wrote that he was young, drunk and stupid and regretted “everything that happened.” He also complained about being labelled a rapist, the “most hurtfull (sic) word I can think of.”
“This is why consent needs to be taught in school,” Canning tweeted on Thursday. “If EVERY parent isn’t educating their children at home, none of our children are safe.”
Canning is now working with a campaign to fight for the 2015 sex-ed curriculum, which he hopes to see back in every classroom across the province. On Friday, the Star spoke with Canning about his daughter Rehtaeh, Ontario’s sex-ed fight and why he believes a progressive sexual education has the power to save lives.
You say Rehtaeh would still be alive today if her school had taught a sex-ed curriculum like the one that was just repealed in Ontario. Why do you think that?
Because the curriculum talks about mental health, it talks about suicide and it talks about consent. I think the young men involved in Rehtaeh’s case don’t believe that what they were doing was sexual assault or rape. They don’t believe that whatsoever, and I think a lot of the kids in Rehtaeh’s school who victim-blamed her had no idea around issues of consent.
If they had, they may not have been so willing to torment her. If there were courses at school about sexting and sharing an image like that of her — people would have said this is child porn, this is against the law. And other kids would’ve come to her defence, or they might have confronted the ones who were victim-blaming and calling her names.
What kind of sex education was available to Rehtaeh and her classmates when they were going to school in Nova Scotia? Nothing whatsoever. That issue came up after Rehtaeh died and a lot of her friends spoke out and said ‘We don’t learn about any of this in school; we learn about the pill, we learn about birth control, condoms, how your body functions and develops.’ But there wasn’t talk around sexual violence and consent. There just wasn’t.
What do you like about the sex-ed curriculum that the Kathleen Wynne government introduced in 2015? I really liked that it talked a lot about the LGBTQ community and gender. (It reflects) the reality of society today, and burying our head in the sand and pretending it isn’t there isn’t going to make anything go away. And it’s definitely not going to help kids stay safe.
The second part I liked was about consent. But the real appeal to me was talking to children in grades 1, 2 and 3, and teaching them about respect, boundaries of other people, and asking to touch someone.
Finding out what consent really means. You start that at a young age and you’ll have just an incredible impact on sexual violence in Canada. Not only will it educate people on what consent is, it will educate bystanders to say, ‘Look this is wrong, and I know this is wrong,’ and they can intervene and do something when they see something happening.
You recently tweeted about a note that was sent to you by someone believed to be one of Rehtaeh’s alleged assaulters. You hold this up as an example of why consent should be taught in schools. Tell me about that. That was the week Rehteah died. This was a very long message posted to (Rehtaeh’s mom) Leah on Facebook.
When I started reading the parts where Rehtaeh started to throw up and he carried her over to the window, and who’s going to go first, and then he laid her on the bed — all of this implies to me that Rehteah was not even able to walk, let alone give consent.
Then he ends off his note upset and mad because people are calling him a rapist and he says it’s the worst thing he can ever think of. But to me, he obviously knows what a rapist is, but he doesn’t know what rape is.
I honestly think this: They believe in their hearts that because Rehtaeh wasn’t screaming and fighting and saying no, they weren’t assaulting her. And if they had known the issues around consent, perhaps they may not have done that.
I read his letter and I thought right there: This is how out of touch kids are in school, that they could do something like that and actually believe it was consensual.
What do you think when you hear some of the concerns being raised by parents who oppose the 2015 sex-ed curriculum? I think there’s a lot of misinformation, and I think they use things to hide behind. I hear parents say sex-ed is up to parents and it’s something that should happen in the home. But when your child leaves the home, the sex-ed you taught them is everybody else’s problem. And if you taught them nothing, then man you have no idea where your child is learning this stuff from.
If parents were teaching this at home, we wouldn’t be in this place right now. Because if they’re teaching this at home, then why in 2018 do we have kids who are homophobic and racist and sexist and misogynist? Why do we have that? We have that because they’re not teaching kids at home.
What would you say to premier Ford if you could get him in a room today? I’d say to him that if the sex-ed curriculum that he has — that Kathleen Wynne gave him — was in schools when my daughter was alive, she’d still be alive. And he needs to remember that.
This isn’t about anyone other than the kids. This is about keeping children safe, and every child safe. That’s what I’d say to him.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Jennifer Yang is a Toronto-based reporter covering identity and inequality. Follow her on Twitter: @jyangstar
So why would anyone who is a thinking person believe that going back to a sex education that was relevant in 1998 be OK? I mean this is before Google, social media and same-sex marriage.
The answer to that is easy. It has nothing to do with respecting parents, or teachers or even education and has everything to do with Doug Ford keeping his promise to the far-right evangelical sorts, like Charles McVety or Tanya Granic who, let’s not forget. supported Ford’s candidacy for Conservative leader. Political opportunism at its slimiest.
I’m appalled that Conservatives like Vic Fedeli and Caroline Mulroney, who I thought maybe were thinking people, have gone along with this. Like I said, slimy opportunism.
Where will children learn about consent, setting boundaries, proper names for body parts, who to tell if someone touches those body parts that shouldn’t, inclusivity, gender issues, etc.? Well, according to Conservatives, and anyone else who is against the new curriculum, it will be parents. I would like everyone to put up their hands if their parents told them all about consent, boundaries and the rest. I thought so.
The best thing I read all week was when Glen Canning said, "If every parent isn’t educating their children at home, none of our children are safe.”
Canning is the father of Rehteah Parsons, who took her own life after telling her parents she had been sexually assaulted by four teens at a party in 2011. She had been a victim of cyber bullying and a picture of the incident had been shared on the internet.
He believes that his daughter would be alive today if the updated sex education curriculum had been taught in her school.
Canning is right that the teaching of consent is imperative in public school. If children are not taught how to arm themselves with information to help protect them from predators, cyber bullying, sexting and internet privacy, we are just leaving our kids hanging out there to be victims. It’s a different world now.
Of course, people fell for the lies that were told about the new curriculum. I believe those lies were rooted in homophobia and wanting women to stay as more compliant partners. They told people that the words “anal sex” were part of the gay agenda. None of that was true.
According to what I have seen of the document, its approach to sexual education was appropriate for varying age groups and was only a small part of the whole thing. Much of it focused on health and physical education.
Ford says he will consult with parents in a way that the previous government did not. Hmm … I guess the fact the Liberals had consulted with teachers, experts and 4,000 parents of elementary students wasn’t enough? But hey, why should we pay attention to the truth?
I worry about the kids who are putting up with bullying or touching as they walk down the hallways, or the ones who are being sent threats on the internet. I worry about parents who feel inadequate to deal with all of this stuff. The new curriculum would have helped so many find the tools to help themselves and others.
Given that the new assistant to the education minister is Sam Oosterhoff -- a young, home-schooled MPP who talked of the “sin” of homosexuality on his Facebook page -- I wouldn’t hold my breath for the Cons to move into this century. Has anyone told them that same-sex marriage is legal in Canada now?
Unfortunately, we have a premier and new government catering to a vocal minority. And it’s not going to help anyone, especially not our kids.
Ruth Farquhar is a freelance writer living on Manitoulin Island.
Ontario education minister flip-flops on sex-ed curriculum stance
Shawn Jeffords, The Canadian Press Published Monday, July 16, 2018 3:21PM EDT
TORONTO -- Ontario's education minister went back and forth Monday on just what students will learn while her government scraps the province's modernized sex-ed curriculum.
Ultimately, Lisa Thompson indicated that no decisions had been made on whether concepts like consent, cyber safety and gender identity will be taught in classrooms this fall.
The province's new Progressive Conservative government announced last week that it was reverting to a 1998 version of the curriculum while consultations are carried out to create a new document.
A March 10, 2018 file photo showing Doug Ford being congratulated by Lisa Thompson after Ford was named as the newly elected leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Chris Young
Thompson first told the legislature on Monday that not all parts of the modernized sex-ed curriculum -- updated in 2015 by the Liberals -- would be scrapped.
"We know they need to learn about consent," she said at the legislature. "We know they need to learn about cyber safety, we know they need to learn about gender identity and appreciation. But we also know that the former Liberal government's consultation process was completely flawed."
A short time later, Thompson told reporters that only a portion of the curriculum will be rolled back, not the entire document.
"What we'll be looking at is the developing sexual relations," she said. "That's the part in the curriculum that we'll be taking a look at."
Late Monday afternoon, however, Thompson's office released a statement that appeared to contradict her comments from earlier in the day.
"We have made no decisions on what the new curriculum will look like. The final decision on the scope of the new curriculum will be based on what we hear from Ontario parents," the statement said.
"While these consultations occur, we are reverting to the full health and physical education curriculum that was last taught in 2014. This curriculum leaves ample space to discuss current social issues."
Premier Doug Ford repeatedly promised to repeal and replace the sex-ed curriculum during his run for the Tory leadership earlier this year and during the spring election, saying parents had not been adequately consulted.
Critics have said the 1998 version of the curriculum did not include many modern themes that children need to keep themselves safe online and did not address things like same-sex marriage.
The modernized curriculum included warnings about online bullying and sexting that were not in the previous version, and also discussed same-sex marriage, gender identity and masturbation.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said Monday's developments make it clear the Tory government does not know what it's doing on the sex-ed file.
"September is coming pretty quick," she said. "It's reprehensible and irresponsible that this government has left everything in such a disarray that educators in our province aren't even aware of what's going to happen come September."
Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser questioned why the government wanted to repeal a curriculum that has been taught in classrooms across the province for three years.
"It's irresponsible to cancel that curriculum," he said. "It's there to protect our children."
Jason Kunin, an English teacher in Toronto, said regardless of what the Tory government does with sex-ed, teachers will address modern issues in class.
"Whether you have it enshrined in the documents or not, you can't simply say we're going to pretend like these things don't exist and expect 60,000 teachers in Ontario to suddenly go along with pretending that it's 1998," said Kunin, who signed on to an online petition condemning the government's scrapping of the modernized health curriculum among other issues.
"You can repeal the curriculum but these conversations are still going to happen."
Doug Ford’s Ontario is open for business. And closing its mind to the world around us.
Parents who opposed a modern sex-ed curriculum always had the right to withdraw their children from any lessons, but instead of opting out, they demanded a provincial blow out. In sex-ed as in politics, the squeaky wheels get the lubricant, writes Martin Regg Cohn. (Rene Johnston / Toronto Star)
See no sex-ed, hear no sex-ed, speak no sex-ed.
By going back in time on sex education — to a time, two decades ago, without texting and sexting, omnipresent porn or consciousness on consent — Ontario is going where no other province in Canada, of any political stripe, has gone before.
We are now uniquely frozen in time, thanks to a premier who declared that Canada’s biggest province would revert — until further notice — to a curriculum first written in the late 1990s. Not even the Progressive Conservatives who long ruled Alberta ever allowed their sex-ed curriculum to be held hostage by socially conservative parents determined to impose their world view on an entire province.
How did we get here? The battle is less ideological than it is cultural, generational, pedagogical — and political, for politicians care more about votes than values.
Under Patrick Brown, who owed his 2015 PC leadership victory to socially conservative members, the party flirted shamelessly with the anti-sex-ed agenda. Ultimately, though, Brown renounced and denounced the hidden agenda of homophobia and intolerance he found among its leading crusaders. But when Ford entered the race to replace Brown as leader this year, he too made common cause with the party’s evangelical movement. Ford eked out a narrow victory thanks to their support, and he is determined to repay his political debt — at the expense of the people and parents of the province.
For it is often forgotten that parents who opposed a modern sex-ed curriculum always had the right to withdraw their children from any lessons. But that wasn’t good enough, for they wanted to impose their own narrow view on everyone else, depriving the majority of students, and their parents, of a modern curriculum that would equip them for the modern world.
Instead of a personal opt-out, they demanded a provincial blow out. In sex-ed as in politics, the squeaky wheels get the lubricant.
In Doug Ford’s Ontario, the tail wags the dog. The premier fears the wrath of so-cons scorned, and so he plays along.
Never mind that the updated curriculum was wildly distorted by opponents. No matter that sexually transmitted infections are climbing rapidly, especially in the U.S. where sex-ed courses are similarly under pressure from evangelical movements promoting abstinence: syphilis rates quadrupled from 2000 to 2016 while chlamydia has doubled; and gonorrhea has jumped 46 per cent since 2010.
Ford’s government has officially rescinded a sex-ed curriculum that taught students the importance of consent, of tolerating difference (notably in sexual orientation and gender identity), of defending against bullying, and, yes, the names of body parts to help safeguard children against sexual abuse (empowering them to speak with greater precision to police when needed).
Victims of sexual abuse or bullying, and their parents, have publicly condemned Ford’s decision, warning it endangers lives. Glen Canning, whose daughter Rehtaeh Parsons committed suicide after an explicit photo of her sexual assault was shared online, described the government as “infuriating.”
Odd that so many pro-life activists would risk the lives of teenagers, and their sexual health, by campaigning against a conventional curriculum that empowers students at various stages in their education to protect themselves clinically, physically, emotionally and socially.
Now, facing a growing backlash, the Tories are belatedly attempting damage control — albeit through obfuscation, not education.
Education Minister Lisa Thompson, who proudly announced last week that the new curriculum had been suspended, claimed petulantly this week people were jumping to conclusions about what’s in and what’s out: “We are reverting to the ... curriculum that was last taught in 2014. This curriculum leaves ample space to discuss current social issues.”
That’s called trying to have it both ways, through mixed messages for teachers, students and parents. Meanwhile, the new curriculum will remain suspended while the government carries out what Thomson calls “fulsome” parental consultations — likely through the miracle of online interactions. But while the Ford government fights to preserve the innocence (and ignorance) of students now in school, what about that cohort of kids who were exposed to the modernized curriculum introduced in 2015? For three full years, these young minds have been inculcated (indoctrinated?) with what the Tories view as dirty words and filthy smut.
What is to be done? Will Ford conjure up a re-education curriculum to right the wrongs he believes were inflicted on Ontario’s schoolchildren? Will he create mandatory summer courses to deprogram kids before they act on the updated curriculum — Sex-ed Detox for Oversexed Pupils? As the premier likes to say, “Help is on the way.”
There are those among us who would like to believe that nothing of substance has changed since 1998 or 1978 or 1958. As a parent of three kids in the public school system, I’m calling B.S. on that one, writes Joel Rubinoff.
Opinion Jul 17, 2018 by Joel Rubinoff Waterloo Region Record
Will Ontario’s muddled sex-ed decisions return us to a more innocent age when a sweet and wide-eyed Lindsay Lohan starred in Disney’s innocuous ‘The Parent Trap’? Probably not. - Disney
Are they repealing it? Are they not repealing it?
When it comes to the province's updated sex-ed curriculum, threatened with annihilation by the Tory government in favour of its archaic 1998 predecessor, the waters are suddenly very murky. First, in deference to social conservatives — a code name for people who view modern society as a Caligula-styled cesspool — they promised they would jump into Doc Brown's time-tripping DeLorean from "Back to the Future" and return to the Chrétien era, when things like social media, sexting and same-sex marriage didn't exist.
Then on Monday, after outrage from educators and parents who don't want their kids held hostage by moral reactionaries from another century, they said they would include bastardized lessons about some of these topics.
Then they reaffirmed, contradictorily, that they will be "rolling back our sex-ed focus," which means what, I don't know.
If they do decide to set the dial back to 1998, I have to admit I'm curious how it will pan out. After all, the '90s — with their Billy Ray Cyrus mullets and Kurt Cobain flannels — were a more innocent time, as sweetly nostalgic as the world Marty McFly encountered when he travelled back 30 years in the 1985 movie blockbuster.
It was an age before big screen superheroes ruled the multiplexes and adult films like "Shakespeare in Love" could still find a welcome berth at the box office.
An age when water cooler TV hits like "Seinfeld" and "Friends" ruled the network roost and even dorky sitcoms like "Dharma & Greg" could muster decent followings.
An age when Lindsay Lohan, wide-eyed and innocent, starred in Disney's "The Parent Trap," family band Hanson released the bubble gum smash "MMMBop" and — before the internet divided the world into à la carte niches — the world was feeding from the same cultural trough.
The problem, from a sex-ed point of view, is that Biff Tannen — the megalomaniac bully from "Back to the Future Part II"— is now running our province.
And teaching a sex-ed curriculum that stems from the days when humans were still making tools out of rocks, sexually speaking, is like replacing the cutting edge safety features on modern cars with clunky misfires from an earlier generation.
Consider my life in 1972: my dad blasting down the highway in a station wagon the size of a yacht, a plume of black exhaust behind him, with my baby sister in the front row, no car seat or seatbelt, squashed between my parents.
Hey, at least it wasn't a Ford Pinto, which had the unfortunate habit of bursting into flames during minor fender benders.
Now consider my public school classroom of the '70s, a Darwinian killing field where only the strong survived.
I wasn't a he-man — more the cowering squirt in the corner — but had the self-awareness to stay the hell out of the fray as kids who didn't conform to traditional gender stereotypes were targeted, bullied and called "fag" until they broke down or moved to another school.
Gender identity? Cyberbullying? These were things Mr. Spock might have grappled with on "Star Trek."
Consent? When no didn't really mean no, what would have been the point?
For those of us over 40, 1998 wasn't really that long ago — a drop in the bucket since the 1960s'
"Youthquake" overturned stuffy social mores of the '50s and begat the culture wars of today. But progress doesn't occur in neatly parcelled-out increments.
And when the internet ramped up in the early 2000s, spawning an era of sexting, cyberbullying and ubiquitous online porn, it changed everything.
There are those among us who would like to believe these things never happened, that nothing of substance has changed since 1998 or 1978 or 1958.
As a parent of three kids in the public school system, I'm calling B.S. on that one. The perils of social media, the importance of consent, LGBTQ+ rights.
Had the new curriculum been in place a decade ago, a lot of the drama experienced by my stepdaughter's peer group could have been happily avoided.
"The new sex-ed curriculum doesn't just benefit parents who aren't comfortable talking about it," adds my psychologist wife. "It also benefits parents like me who are very comfortable.''
A few weeks before school ended, our 10-year-old son, Max — who has autism — came home troubled by a class discussion about the changes wrought by puberty, a subject my wife had broached previously with zero response.
Kids in the class were uncomfortable. Some had laughed. Max seemed unsure how to react.
"Everyone at that age is uncomfortable and giggles," notes Alicia, insisting it's stuff they need to know. "They're grossed out. It's normal.
"But it led to us having a conversation that opened the door for our autistic child to actually be able to talk about what I think is vital. This was a good thing."
My own opinion is that sex education is no different — and should be treated no differently — than math, science or accounting.
Parents are pivotal, but are they best suited to teach their kids about modern sexual mores and other "difficult" topics?
Are they a substitute for trained teachers and — despite the bogus criticism — a scientifically valid, heavily publicly consulted sex-ed curriculum?
Ha, ha. What is this, "Planet of the Apes"?
"If parents were teaching this at home, then why in 2018 do we have kids who are homophobic and racist and sexist and misogynist?" Glen Canning, father of assault victim turned suicide Rehtaeh Parsons, told The Toronto Star.
"Why do we have that? We have that because they're not teaching kids at home."
"And if you taught them nothing, you have no idea where your child is learning this stuff."
So to corset-bound puritans who figure ignoring modern realities will make them go away, there is only one solution: re-create the gull-winged time machine from "Back to the Future" and have a good trip.
If you can take our Biff Tannen premier with you, so much the better.
---------- Original message ---------- From: Premier of Ontario | Premier ministre de l’Ontario <Premier@ontario.ca> Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2018 19:57:33 +0000 Subject: Automatic reply: Attn Lisa Thompson RE Glen Canning and his cohorts torturing Doug Ford about Sex Ed I just called again from 902 800 0359 and left another voicemail To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Thank you for your email. Your thoughts, comments and input are greatly valued.
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Merci pour votre courriel. Nous vous sommes très reconnaissants de nous avoir fait part de vos idées, commentaires et observations.
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Dans certains cas, nous transmettrons votre message au ministère responsable afin que les questions soulevées puissent être traitées de la manière la plus efficace possible. En conséquence, plusieurs jours ouvrables pourraient s’écouler avant que nous puissions vous répondre.
Like me, @LisaThompsonMPP signed the @Fix_Our_Schools pledge. Why is she now going back on her word? Our kids and educators deserve much better than this. #onpoli
408 Queen Street, PO Box 426 Blyth, ON N0M 1H0 Phone: 519-523-4251 Toll Free: 1-800-668-9320 Fax: 226-523-9296 Email: lisa.thompsonco@pc.ola.org
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Joel Harden - Ottawa Centre NDP <joel@joelharden.ca> Date: Sun, 10 Jun 2018 16:32:39 +0000 (UTC) Subject: Thank You, Ottawa Centre / Merci Ottawa Centre To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Thank You
From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Together, we made history as we turned Ottawa Centre orange with a combination of bold ideas and local organizing.
This was a true team effort. In total, 1,200 volunteers participated in our campaign. To everyone who knocked on a door, entered data, put up a sign, donated a dollar, or convinced family and friends to support us, my sincere thanks.
We are thrilled to see the election of so many NDP MPPs across Ontario, but let’s be honest: the reality of a Doug Ford majority government poses a real threat to the progressive gains made over the past few years, whether on minimum wage, reproductive justice, or climate change. Our best defence against Ford’s destructive agenda is an organized community - and this is what we will continue to build in Ottawa Centre.
I am humbled to be given the opportunity to serve as your MPP, and to follow in the footsteps of torchbearers like Michael Cassidy, Evelyn Gigantes, Ed Broadbent, and Paul Dewar. I’m excited to build on the movement that we’ve started and to continue to fight together for the Ontario that we deserve. For the many, not the few.
My very best,
Joel Harden
Merci
Du fonds de mon coeur, merci. Ensemble, nous avons marqué l'histoire en changeant Ottawa Centre par une combinaison d'idées audacieuses et d'organisation locale.
C'était un véritable travail d'équipe. Au total, 1 200 bénévoles ont participé à notre campagne. À tous ceux qui ont cogné aux portes, qui ont fait de la saisie de données, affichés une pancarte, faits un don, ou convaincu leurs familles et amis de nous soutenir, je vous remercie sincèrement.
Nous sommes ravis de voir l'élection de tant de députés NPD partout en Ontario, mais soyons francs: la réalité d'un gouvernement majoritaire mené par Doug Ford menace le progrès réalisé au cours des dernières années, qu'il s’agisse du salaire minimum, des droits reproductifs, ou du changement climatique. Notre meilleure défense contre le programme destructif de Ford est une communauté bien mobilisée - et c'est ce que nous continuerons de faire dans Ottawa Centre.
C'est avec humilité que je deviens votre député provincial et que je suis les traces de porteurs de flambeau comme Michael Cassidy, Evelyn Gigantes, Ed Broadbent, et Paul Dewar. C'est avec enthousiasme que nous poursuivrons le travail amorcé par notre mouvement, pour lutter ensemble pour l'Ontario qu'on mérite - une province pour le plus grand nombre, et non pour quelques-uns seulement.
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Premier of Ontario | Premier ministre de l’Ontario <Premier@ontario.ca> Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2018 19:49:53 +0000 Subject: Automatic reply: ATTN Caroline Mulroney I am on the phone to your office right now To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Thank you for your email. Your thoughts, comments and input are greatly valued.
You can be assured that all emails and letters are carefully read, reviewed and taken into consideration.
There may be occasions when, given the issues you have raised and the need to address them effectively, we will forward a copy of your correspondence to the appropriate government official. Accordingly, a response may take several business days.
Thanks again for your email. ______
Merci pour votre courriel. Nous vous sommes très reconnaissants de nous avoir fait part de vos idées, commentaires et observations.
Nous tenons à vous assurer que nous lisons attentivement et prenons en considération tous les courriels et lettres que nous recevons.
Dans certains cas, nous transmettrons votre message au ministère responsable afin que les questions soulevées puissent être traitées de la manière la plus efficace possible. En conséquence, plusieurs jours ouvrables pourraient s’écouler avant que nous puissions vous répondre.
Ministry of the Attorney General McMurtry-Scott Building 720 Bay Street, 11th Floor Toronto, ON M7A 2S9 Telephone 416-326-2220 E-mail attorneygeneral@ontario.ca
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Caroline Mulroney <caroline@carolinemulroney.ca> Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2018 12:40:20 -0700 Subject: Thank you for your message! Re: Yo Doug Ford At least some computers are far more ethical that their owners N'esy Pas? To: motomaniac333@gmail.com
Thank you for your email. A member of our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
Warm regards,
Team Caroline
-- Caroline Mulroney
MPP York-Simcoe Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs
Députée pour York-Simcoe procureure générale et ministre déléguée aux Affaires francophones
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Premier of Ontario | Premier ministre de l’Ontario <Premier@ontario.ca> Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2018 19:40:19 +0000 Subject: Automatic reply: Yo Doug Ford At least some computers are far more ethical that their owners N'esy Pas? To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Thank you for your email. Your thoughts, comments and input are greatly valued.
You can be assured that all emails and letters are carefully read, reviewed and taken into consideration.
There may be occasions when, given the issues you have raised and the need to address them effectively, we will forward a copy of your correspondence to the appropriate government official. Accordingly, a response may take several business days.
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Merci pour votre courriel. Nous vous sommes très reconnaissants de nous avoir fait part de vos idées, commentaires et observations.
Nous tenons à vous assurer que nous lisons attentivement et prenons en considération tous les courriels et lettres que nous recevons.
Dans certains cas, nous transmettrons votre message au ministère responsable afin que les questions soulevées puissent être traitées de la manière la plus efficace possible. En conséquence, plusieurs jours ouvrables pourraient s’écouler avant que nous puissions vous répondre.
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Allison Marchildon <Allison.Marchildon@usherbrooke.ca> Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2018 19:14:53 +0000 Subject: Réponse automatique : ATTN Sophie D'Amours and Luc Bégin The woman without a name at (418) 656-2131, poste 11226 told me to contact your lawyers To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Veuillez noter que je suis en congé pour fins d'études et de recherche pour l'année 2017. Pendant cette période, je répondrai plus sporadiquement à mes courriels. Merci de votre compréhension et patience.
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Steve Jacob <Steve.Jacob@pol.ulaval.ca> Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2018 19:14:51 +0000 Subject: Réponse automatique : ATTN Sophie D'Amours and Luc Bégin The woman without a name at (418) 656-2131, poste 11226 told me to contact your lawyers To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Je suis absent jusqu’au 27 juillet. Je ne lirai pas mes courriels durant cette période. Je répondrai à votre message dès que possible à mon retour.
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Luc Bégin <Luc.Begin@fp.ulaval.ca> Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2018 19:14:52 +0000 Subject: Réponse automatique : ATTN Sophie D'Amours and Luc Bégin The woman without a name at (418) 656-2131, poste 11226 told me to contact your lawyers To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Veuillez prendre note que je serai absent du bureau jusqu'au 7 août. Pendant cette période, je ne prendrai pas connaissance de mes courriels.
Pour toute correspondance relative à la subvention de recherche FRQSC-KHEOPS-Action concertée, veuillez contacter M. Félix Aubé-Beaudoin, coordonnateur du projet, à l'adresse suivante: felix.aube-beaudoin.1@ulaval.ca afin qu'il entre en communication avec moi.
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Premier of Ontario | Premier ministre de l’Ontario <Premier@ontario.ca> Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2018 19:14:50 +0000 Subject: Automatic reply: ATTN Sophie D'Amours and Luc Bégin The woman without a name at (418) 656-2131, poste 11226 told me to contact your lawyers To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Thank you for your email. Your thoughts, comments and input are greatly valued.
You can be assured that all emails and letters are carefully read, reviewed and taken into consideration.
There may be occasions when, given the issues you have raised and the need to address them effectively, we will forward a copy of your correspondence to the appropriate government official. Accordingly, a response may take several business days.
Thanks again for your email. ______
Merci pour votre courriel. Nous vous sommes très reconnaissants de nous avoir fait part de vos idées, commentaires et observations.
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Dans certains cas, nous transmettrons votre message au ministère responsable afin que les questions soulevées puissent être traitées de la manière la plus efficace possible. En conséquence, plusieurs jours ouvrables pourraient s’écouler avant que nous puissions vous répondre.
Merci encore pour votre courriel.
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "Eby.MLA, David"<David.Eby.MLA@leg.bc.ca> Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2018 19:14:52 +0000 Subject: Automatic reply: ATTN Sophie D'Amours and Luc Bégin The woman without a name at (418) 656-2131, poste 11226 told me to contact your lawyers To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
This automated response is to assure you that your message has been received by my community office and will be reviewed as soon as possible. Please note that constituents of Vancouver-Point Grey have priority. Please be sure to respond back and include your home address or postal code to confirm you are a resident of Vancouver-Point Grey.
If you are not a local resident, please contact your MLA's office for assistance. To find out which MLA represents your neighbourhood, you can enter your postal code here to get their contact information: https://www.leg.bc.ca/learn-about-us/members. If you are writing to David Eby regarding his responsibilities as the Attorney General, or as the Minister Responsible for ICBC, liquor policy, or BCLC (gaming policy and enforcement) please direct your correspondence to the Minister at AG.Minister@gov.bc.caAG.Minister@gov.bc.ca> where staff with expertise on these issues will receive, review, and respond as required to your correspondence. Our constituency office will not be responding to emails related to David Eby's work as a Minister.
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Thanks again for writing, Community office of David Eby MLA, Vancouver-Point Grey 2909 West Broadway, Vancouver BC V6K 2G6 604-660-1297 | www.davidebymla.ca
On 7/12/18, David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> wrote: > https://www.ulaval.ca/en/about-us/management-and-governance/rectors-office/management-team/ms-sophie-damours.html > > > Pavillon Sciences de l'éducation > 2320, rue des Bibliothèques > Local 1656 > Université Laval > > Téléphone au bureau : (418) 656-2131 poste 2745 > Courrier électronique : rectrice@ulaval.ca > > ---------- Original message ---------- > From: "Min.Mail / Courrier.Min (CRA/ARC)"PABMINMAILG@cra-arc.gc.ca > Date: Wed, 24 May 2017 13:10:52 +0000 > Subject: Your various correspondence about abusive tax schemes - 2017-02631 > To: motomaniac333@gmail.com > > Mr. David Raymond Amos > motomaniac333@gmail.com > > > Dear Mr. Amos: > > Thank you for your various correspondence about abusive tax schemes, > and for your understanding regarding the delay of this response. > > This is an opportunity for me to address your concerns about the way > the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) deals with aggressive tax planning, > tax avoidance, and tax evasion by targeting individuals and groups > that promote schemes intended to avoid payment of tax. It is also an > opportunity for me to present the Government of Canada’s main > strategies for ensuring fairness for all taxpayers. > > The CRA’s mission is to preserve the integrity of Canada’s tax system, > and it is taking concrete and effective action to deal with abusive > tax schemes. Through federal budget funding in 2016 and 2017, the > government has committed close to $1 billion in cracking down on tax > evasion and combatting tax avoidance at home and through the use of > offshore transactions. This additional funding is expected to generate > federal revenues of $2.6 billion over five years for Budget 2016, and > $2.5 billion over five years for Budget 2017. > > More precisely, the CRA is cracking down on tax cheats by hiring more > auditors, maintaining its underground economy specialist teams, > increasing coverage of aggressive goods and service tax/harmonized > sales tax planning, increasing coverage of multinational corporations > and wealthy individuals, and taking targeted actions aimed at > promoters of abusive tax schemes. > > On the offshore front, the CRA continues to develop tools to improve > its focus on high‑risk taxpayers. It is also considering changes to > its Voluntary Disclosures Program following the first set of program > recommendations received from an independent Offshore Compliance > Advisory Committee. In addition, the CRA is leading international > projects to address the base erosion and profit shifting initiative of > the G20 and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and > Development, and is collaborating with treaty partners to address the > Panama Papers leaks. > > These actions are evidence of the government’s commitment to > protecting tax fairness. The CRA has strengthened its intelligence and > technical capacities for the early detection of abusive tax > arrangements and deterrence of those who participate in them. To > ensure compliance, it has increased the number of actions aimed at > promoters who use illegal schemes. These measures include increased > audits of such promoters, improved information gathering, criminal > investigations where warranted, and better communication with > taxpayers. > > To deter potential taxpayer involvement in these schemes, the CRA is > increasing notifications and warnings through its communications > products. It also seeks partnerships with tax preparers, accountants, > and community groups so that they can become informed observers who > can educate their clients. > > The CRA will assess penalties against promoters and other > representatives who make false statements involving illegal tax > schemes. The promotion of tax schemes to defraud the government can > lead to criminal investigations, fingerprinting, criminal prosecution, > court fines, and jail time. > > Between April 1, 2011, and March 31, 2016, the CRA’s criminal > investigations resulted in the conviction of 42 Canadian taxpayers for > tax evasion with links to money and assets held offshore. In total, > the $34 million in evaded taxes resulted in court fines of $12 million > and 734 months of jail time. > > When deciding to pursue compliance actions through the courts, the CRA > consults the Department of Justice Canada to choose an appropriate > solution. Complex tax-related litigation is costly and time consuming, > and the outcome may be unsuccessful. All options to recover amounts > owed are considered. > > More specifically, in relation to the KPMG Isle of Man tax avoidance > scheme, publicly available court records show that it is through the > CRA’s efforts that the scheme was discovered. The CRA identified many > of the participants and continues to actively pursue the matter. The > CRA has also identified at least 10 additional tax structures on the > Isle of Man, and is auditing taxpayers in relation to these > structures. > > To ensure tax fairness, the CRA commissioned an independent review in > March 2016 to determine if it had acted appropriately concerning KPMG > and its clients. In her review, Ms. Kimberley Brooks, Associate > Professor and former Dean of the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie > University, examined the CRA’s operational processes and decisions in > relation to the KPMG offshore tax structure and its efforts to obtain > the names of all taxpayers participating in the scheme. Following this > review, the report, released on May 5, 2016, concluded that the CRA > had acted appropriately in its management of the KPMG Isle of Man > file. The report found that the series of compliance measures the CRA > took were in accordance with its policies and procedures. It was > concluded that the procedural actions taken on the KPMG file were > appropriate given the facts of this particular case and were > consistent with the treatment of taxpayers in similar situations. The > report concluded that actions by CRA employees were in accordance with > the CRA’s Code of Integrity and Professional Conduct. There was no > evidence of inappropriate interaction between KPMG and the CRA > employees involved in the case. > > Under the CRA’s Code of Integrity and Professional Conduct, all CRA > employees are responsible for real, apparent, or potential conflicts > of interests between their current duties and any subsequent > employment outside of the CRA or the Public Service of Canada. > Consequences and corrective measures play an important role in > protecting the CRA’s integrity. > > The CRA takes misconduct very seriously. The consequences of > misconduct depend on the gravity of the incident and its repercussions > on trust both within and outside of the CRA. Misconduct can result in > disciplinary measures up to dismissal. > > All forms of tax evasion are illegal. The CRA manages the Informant > Leads Program, which handles leads received from the public regarding > cases of tax evasion across the country. This program, which > coordinates all the leads the CRA receives from informants, determines > whether there has been any non-compliance with tax law and ensures > that the information is examined and conveyed, if applicable, so that > compliance measures are taken. This program does not offer any reward > for tips received. > > The new Offshore Tax Informant Program (OTIP) has also been put in > place. The OTIP offers financial compensation to individuals who > provide information related to major cases of offshore tax evasion > that lead to the collection of tax owing. As of December 31, 2016, the > OTIP had received 963 calls and 407 written submissions from possible > informants. Over 218 taxpayers are currently under audit based on > information the CRA received through the OTIP. > > With a focus on the highest-risk sectors nationally and > internationally and an increased ability to gather information, the > CRA has the means to target taxpayers who try to hide their income. > For example, since January 2015, the CRA has been collecting > information on all international electronic funds transfers (EFTs) of > $10,000 or more ending or originating in Canada. It is also adopting a > proactive approach by focusing each year on four jurisdictions that > raise suspicion. For the Isle of Man, the CRA audited 3,000 EFTs > totalling $860 million over 12 months and involving approximately 800 > taxpayers. Based on these audits, the CRA communicated with > approximately 350 individuals and 400 corporations and performed 60 > audits. > > In January 2017, I reaffirmed Canada’s important role as a leader for > tax authorities around the world in detecting the structures used for > aggressive tax planning and tax evasion. This is why Canada works > daily with the Joint International Tax Shelter Information Centre > (JITSIC), a network of tax administrations in over 35 countries. The > CRA participates in two expert groups within the JITSIC and leads the > working group on intermediaries and proponents. This ongoing > collaboration is a key component of the CRA’s work to develop strong > relationships with the international community, which will help it > refine the world-class tax system that benefits all Canadians. > > The CRA is increasing its efforts and is seeing early signs of > success. Last year, the CRA recovered just under $13 billion as a > result of its audit activities on the domestic and offshore fronts. > Two-thirds of these recoveries are the result of its audit efforts > relating to large businesses and multinational companies. > > But there is still much to do, and additional improvements and > investments are underway. > > Tax cheats are having a harder and harder time hiding. Taxpayers who > choose to promote or participate in malicious and illegal tax > strategies must face the consequences of their actions. Canadians > expect nothing less. I invite you to read my most recent statement on > this matter at canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/news/2017/03/ > statement_from_thehonourabledianelebouthillierministerofnational. > > Thank you for taking the time to write. I hope the information I have > provided is helpful. > > Sincerely, > > > The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier > Minister of National Revenue > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> From: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> >> Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2016 12:01:20 -0400 >> Subject: RE IDÉA & my contact with Prof Luc Begin about my concerns >> dealling with the severe lack of Integrity of the CBC, CRA, Dentons >> and KPMG etc >> To: yves.boisvert@enap.ca, Andre.Lacroix@usherbrooke.ca, >> Lyse.Langlois@rlt.ulaval.ca, Allison.Marchildon@usherbrooke.ca, >> Anne.Chartier@fsa.ulaval.ca, Steve.Jacob@pol.ulaval.ca, >> bruno_leclerc@uqar.ca, marc.maesschalck@uclouvain.be >> Cc: David Amos <david.raymond.amos@gmail.com> >> >> https://translate.google.com/translate?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.ca&sl=fr&u=https://www.idea.ulaval.ca/cms/site/idea/page148842.html%3Bjsessionid%3D2E9F2F78A7E42D0647AE49FADD5C343D >> >> Institutionalization and ethical intervention (2014-2018) >> >> Granting Agency: Quebec Research Fund - Society and Culture (FRQSC) >> Principal investigator: Luc Bégin , Laval University >> >> Co-Applicant (s): >> • Yves Boisvert (ENAP-Montreal) >> • André Lacroix (University of Sherbrooke) >> • Lyse Langlois (Université Laval) >> • Allison Marchildon (University of Sherbrooke) >> >> Employees of Quebec: >> • Anne Chartier (Université Laval) >> • Steve Jacob (Université Laval) >> • Bruno Leclerc (UQAR) >> • Dany Rondeau (UQAR) >> >> Employees from abroad: >> • Fabrice Larat (Ecole Nationale d'Administration, Paris) >> • Marc Maesschalck (Catholic University of Louvain) >> >> >> Institutionalization and ethical intervention (2009-2013) >> Granting Agency: Quebec Research Fund - Society and Culture (FRQSC) >> Principal investigator: Luc Bégin , Laval University >> >> Co-Applicant (s): >> • Yves Boisvert , ENAP-Montreal; >> • Anne Chartier , Laval University; >> • Steve Jacob , Université Laval; >> • France Jutras , Unviersity of Sherbrooke; >> • André Lacroix , Unviersity of Sherbrooke; >> • Lyse Langlois , Université Laval; >> • Bruno Leclerc , UQAR; >> • Lyne Létourneau , Laval University; >> • Florence Piron , Université Laval; >> • Dany Rondeau , UQAR; >> • Diane Girard , ethics consultant. >> >> Our research program takes as object questioning the two interrelated >> phenomena that are institutionalizing ethics and intervention in >> organizational ethics. >> >> We are witnessing for several years in an institutionalization of >> ethics in various work environments and activities of Quebec society, >> whether in public administration circles, private companies, unionized >> or not circles, professional or not, etc. Ethics now occupies a place >> that is recognized her own alongside other social control devices that >> are law, employment contracts, codes of conduct and the administrative >> rule. So, do we increasingly call codes of ethics, value statements, >> ethics committees, ethics advisors, etc. This phenomenon of >> institutionalization also gave rise to many ethical response >> operations in an organizational context, be it advice, coaching, and >> decision support, training or development of guidelines. These forms >> of intervention have developed in various practice settings now at the >> mercy of the demands expressed by these practice settings, sometimes >> following an obligation imposed by the legislature to introduce ethics >> by regulating structure. >> >> We set as the starting point of our work the following hypothesis: >> the institutionalization of ethics is a social phenomenon that reveals >> - at the same time having to participate - a hesitant transformation >> and poorly understood in our reports to the norm in different >> workplaces. In this context, the various forms of intervention in >> organizational ethics are as many answers to the requests for the >> purposes that are far from always converge. >> >> The projects included in our research program aims therefore to >> contribute a share to a better understanding of the >> institutionalization of ethics and reports to the norm it implies >> (line 1) and, secondly, the development and implementation of >> organizational ethics in intervention practices that are based more >> effective and (2 axis). These two axes control research where some >> issues and questions are essential to deepen, especially: what >> balances draw up organizational mechanisms of regulation by ethics >> (codes, structures consulting, ethics committees)? What are the >> obstacles to successful implementation of a regulatory structure by >> ethics (culture and construction conditions of organizational >> identity, etc.)? What is the impact of current practices of >> intervention in organizational ethics (stiffness mismatch between the >> organization and empowerment of workers conditions of implementation >> of the learning achieved;? Decreases in behavioral controls etc.)? >> What practical intervention put in place to foster empowerment of >> agents and groups while taking into account the implementation of the >> regulation by the ethical contexts? This is the type of questions we >> explore in our research projects. >> >> >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> From: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> >> Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2016 08:29:59 -0400 >> Subject: Re: RE My calls emails and the documents I gave to the CRA, >> the Border Services and the CBC and the sneaky lawyer Duff Conacher in >> 2004 >> To: IDEA <idea@fp.ulaval.ca> >> Cc: David Amos <david.raymond.amos@gmail.com> >> >> Thank you very much for informing me. >> >> As you can see I contacted him directly yesterday when I got no >> response from your office. >> >> Best Regards >> Dave >> >> - Forwarded message ---------- >> From: Luc Bégin <Luc.Begin@fp.ulaval.ca> >> Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2016 20:30:15 +0000 >> Subject: Réponse automatique : Attn Prof Luc Begin Re CRA and KPMG etc >> To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> >> >> Je serai absent du bureau du 16 avril au 26 avril inclusivement. >> Pendant cette période, je ne lirai mes courriels qu'occasionnellement. >> >> >> On 4/19/16, IDEA <idea@fp.ulaval.ca> wrote: >>> Dear Mr Amos, >>> >>> Mr. Bégin is in Switzerland for the week. Here is his email address : >>> luc.begin@fp.ulaval.ca >>> >>> >>> Marie-France Paquette >>> Professionnelle de recherche >>> Institut d’éthique appliquée (IDÉA) >>> Université Laval >>> Pavillon Félix-Antoine-Savard, local 310 >>> 2325, rue des Bibliothèques >>> Québec QC G1V 0A6 >>> Téléphone: (418) 656-2131, poste 11226 >>> Site Internet : www.idea.ulaval.ca >>> Courriel : idea@fp.ulaval.ca >>> 10e anniversaire de l’IDÉA (2004-2014) >>> Avis relatif à la confidentialité >>> http://www.rec.ulaval.ca/lce/securite/confidentialite.htm >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -----Message d'origine----- >>> De : David Amos [mailto:motomaniac333@gmail.com] >>> Envoyé : 18 avril 2016 15:38 >>> À : idea@fp.ulaval.ca >>> Cc : Jean.Chretien@dentons.com; David Amos >>> <david.raymond.amos@gmail.com>; >>> xuefeng.peng@dentons.cn; jinquan.xiao@dentons.cn >>> Objet : Fwd: RE My calls emails and the documents I gave to the CRA, the >>> Border Services and the CBC and the sneaky lawyer Duff Conacher in 2004 >>> >>> http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kpmg-canada-revenue-agency-receptions-conferences-1.3540285 >>> >>> CBC Investigates >>> CRA execs treated to soirees at private club amid KPMG probe >>> Receptions at posh Rideau Club took place while tax agency and KPMG >>> pursued settlement in offshore case By Harvey Cashore, Kimberly Ivany, >>> Katie Pedersen, Fréderic Zalac, CBC News Posted: Apr 17, 2016 11:38 PM >>> ET >>> >>> "The sponsors include two Toronto law firms connected to the KPMG >>> case. Osler, which began hosting events as far back as 2010, took on >>> KPMG as a client in 2013, defending it against the Canada Revenue >>> Agency's court action. Another Bay Street firm, Dentons, has sponsored >>> tailgate parties for each of the last five years and in court >>> documents is said to have provided legal advice as KPMG set up its >>> offshore scheme." >>> >>> Prof. Luc Bégin, director of the Institute of Applied Ethics at Laval >>> University in Quebec City, said the private receptions — whose hosts >>> included KPMG executives — should not have been allowed. >>> >>> "If we're talking about accounting firms that the Canada Revenue >>> Agency is probing, I don't see how you can defend these people being >>> together in this place," Begin said. >>> >>> >>> Institute of Applied Ethics (IDÉA) >>> Université Laval >>> Pavillon Félix-Antoine-Savard >>> 2325, rue des Bibliothèques >>> Suite 310 >>> Québec City (Québec) G1V 0A6 >>> >>> 418 656-2131, ext. 11226 >>> Fax: 418 656-7267 >>> idea@fp.ulaval.ca >>> >> >> >> >> >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> From: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> >> Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2016 16:29:56 -0400 >> Subject: Attn Prof Luc Begin Re CRA and KPMG etc >> To: luc.begin@fp.ulaval.ca >> >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> From: FP Institut d'éthique appliquée <idea@fp.ulaval.ca> >> Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2016 19:37:58 +0000 >> Subject: Réponse automatique : RE My calls emails and the documents I >> gave to the CRA, the Border Services and the CBC and the sneaky lawyer >> Duff Conacher in 2004 >> To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> >> >> Bonjour, >> >> Je serai absente du bureau le lundi 18 avril. >> >> Marie-France Paquette >> Professionnelle de recherche >> Institut d’éthique appliquée (IDÉA) >> Université Laval >> Pavillon Félix-Antoine-Savard, local 310 >> 2325, rue des Bibliothèques >> Québec QC G1V 0A6 >> Téléphone: (418) 656-2131, poste 11226 >> Télécopieur: (418) 656-7267 >> Courriel: marie-france.paquette.1@ulaval.ca >> Courriel de l’IDÉA : idea@fp.ulaval.ca >> Avis relatif à la confidentialité >> http://www.rec.ulaval.ca/lce/securite/confidentialite.htm >> >> >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> From: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> >> Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2016 16:18:40 -0400 >> Subject: Attn Robin Benger I just called this is the email again wit >> some more ifo for you Please say hey to the nervous lawyer Neil Brooks >> for me will ya? >> To: rnbb@cogentbenger.com, mail@cogentbenger.com, >> nbrooks@osgoode.yorku.ca >> Cc: David Amos <david.raymond.amos@gmail.com>, "dean.buzza" >> <dean.buzza@rcmp-grc.gc.ca> >> >> CBC Investigates >> CRA execs treated to soirees at private club amid KPMG probe >> Receptions at posh Rideau Club took place while tax agency and KPMG >> pursued settlement in offshore case >> >> By Harvey Cashore, Kimberly Ivany, Katie Pedersen, Fréderic Zalac, CBC >> News Posted: Apr 17, 2016 11:38 PM ET >> >> http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kpmg-canada-revenue-agency-receptions-conferences-1.3540285 >> >> "The sponsors include two Toronto law firms connected to the KPMG >> case. Osler, which began hosting events as far back as 2010, took on >> KPMG as a client in 2013, defending it against the Canada Revenue >> Agency's court action. Another Bay Street firm, Dentons, has sponsored >> tailgate parties for each of the last five years and in court >> documents is said to have provided legal advice as KPMG set up its >> offshore scheme. >> >> A former Department of Justice lawyer, who now works for an accounting >> firm, said the presence of government officials at these receptions >> is a good thing and allows more informal networking than the >> conference's daytime panels. >> >> "If you go to those cocktails, it's not about to talk about files. >> I've never seen that happen," said the lawyer, who spoke on the >> condition of anonymity. >> >> "It's about meeting maybe somebody that you talked to on the phone but >> you've never seen. It's just about fostering… good working >> relationships." >> >> Robin Benger, an independent documentary producer who directed The >> Great Canadian Tax Dodge for TVOntario, investigated the tax industry >> for more than three years and attended a 2013 Canadian Tax Foundation >> conference. After listening to speeches by both government and >> industry tax officials, he said, he vividly recalls the Osler >> reception at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. >> >> "CRA top people" attended the party, he said. "They were being plied >> with drinks and getting on roaringly with all the tax lawyers and >> accountants." >> >> Benger says he was "stunned" by the relationship he observed between >> the tax law companies, the accountants and the CRA. He argues the >> "rule makers" were too close to "rule twisters." >> >> Osler and Dentons both declined to comment to CBC News. >> >> Benger also recalled seeing KPMG's head of tax, Elio Luongo, speaking >> privately to CRA Commissioner Treusch after Treusch gave a speech to >> the delegates on the last day of the 2013 convention. >> >> In a statement, the CRA said that its officials acted with integrity >> at all times. "CRA officials who attended the receptions did not >> intervene in the decisionmaking on the KPMG file," the statement >> reads. >> >> For his part, Treusch said he has not had any conversations about the >> KPMG case with any officials from the firm. >> >> "I have never discussed the KPMG litigation, including any >> negotiations that may have occurred in relation to that litigation, >> with any representative of KPMG at any time." >> >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> From: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> >> Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2016 15:46:15 -0400 >> Subject: Fwd: RE My calls emails and the documents I gave to the CRA, >> the Border Services and the CBC and the sneaky lawyer Duff Conacher in >> 2004 >> To: mail@cogentbenger.com >> Cc: David Amos <david.raymond.amos@gmail.com> >> >> Great Canadian Tax Dodge on its way >> November 27, 2014 >> >> Cogent/Benger’s latest film, The Great Canadian Tax Dodge, has its >> first broadcast on TVOntario at 9pm on February 4th, 2015. >> >> It is the product of a three-year investigation by director/producer >> Robin Benger into the extent of tax avoidance by Canadian entities in >> Canada and abroad, mostly via offshore tax havens in the Caribbean. “I >> was astonished at the systematic pervasiveness of tax avoidance by >> most mainstream Canadian companies on a multi-billion-dollar scale >> with the apparent neglect of several generations of Canadian finance >> ministers.” >> >> The documentary follows the story of a fair-tax campaigner in Ottawa >> as he struggles to create a national movement; it looks at the views >> of “the Wayne Gretzky of tax lawyers”, who asserts that legal tax >> avoidance is a good thing; it examines legal cases that arguably lay >> the blame on the courts for allowing companies to deprive Canadians of >> millions of dollars of taxable revenue; and it reports on the seminal >> Canadian influence in the setting up and running of the Cayman Islands >> as a tax haven, and how tiny offshore jurisdictions like the Caymans >> have become the agents of investment in major Canadian economic >> sectors. >> >> Among those interviewed are John Christensen, James Henry and Dennis >> Howlett from the Tax Justice movement; Antony Travers, one of the >> masterminds behind the Caymans Islands financial system; Al Meghji, >> Canada’s most successful tax law trial lawyer; Michael Wilson, former >> Minister of Finance; and David Dodge, former Governor of the Bank of >> Canada. >> >> “This revealing and brilliant film explains the strategies used by tax >> avoiders and demonstrates the damage they cause. It contrasts the >> scammers who promote tax avoidance schemes and tax havens with the >> outnumbered and out-financed but public-spirited campaigners who are >> leading the fight against them. For the sake of our democracies, >> hopefully, it will spur governments to take action against rogue >> states that act as tax havens and against tax avoiders and the >> professional organizations and individuals that facilitate them.” >> Neil Brooks >> Professor Emeritus and Senior Scholar >> Osgoode Hall Law School >> >> Produced by Robin Benger and Christopher Sumpton >> Computer animation: Mark Alberts >> Music: Kurt Swinghammer >> >> >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> From: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> >> Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2016 14:30:07 -0400 >> Subject: Attn Attorney General José Eduardo Cardozo the attachments >> are for real and I am on the phone to your offices in Brazil (61) >> 2025-8900 and (61) 2025-3516 right now >> To: drci@mj.gov.br, sao.etica@mj.gov.br >> Cc: David Amos <david.raymond.amos@gmail.com> >> >> http://www.justica.gov.br/Acesso/institucional/sumario/quemequem/jose-eduardo-cardozo >> >> http://www.justica.gov.br/sua-protecao/cooperacao-internacional >> >> Business hours: >> Monday to Friday from 8 to 18 hours >> Phone: >> (61) 2025-8900 / 8901 >> Address: >> Department of Asset Recovery and International Legal Cooperation - SNJ / >> MJ >> SCN QD 06, Block A, 2nd floor - Shopping ID >> 70716-900 - Brasília-DF >> E-mail: >> drci@mj.gov.br >> >>>> Ask yourselves why the govenemnt of Brazil was checking my work today >>>> if you do not bother to read the rest of this email >>>> >>>> Just Dave >>>> By Location Visit Detail >>>> Visit 23,524 >>>> Domain Name gvt.net.br ? (Brazil) >>>> IP Address 189.27.189.# (Unknown Organization) >>>> ISP Unknown ISP >>>> Location >>>> Continent : South America >>>> Country : Brazil (Facts) >>>> State/Region : Rio Grande do Sul >>>> City : Porto Alegre >>>> Lat/Long : -30.0333, -51.2 (Map) >>>> Language Portuguese (Brazil) >>>> pt-br >>>> Operating System Macintosh WinNT >>>> Browser Safari 1.3 >>>> Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like >>>> Gecko) Chrome/47.0.2526.111 Safari/537.36 >>>> Javascript version 1.5 >>>> Monitor >>>> Resolution : 1366 x 768 >>>> Color Depth : 32 bits >>>> Time of Visit Apr 17 2016 9:27:22 pm >>>> Last Page View Apr 17 2016 9:27:22 pm >>>> Visit Length 0 seconds >>>> Page Views 1 >>>> Referring URL http://keywords-moni...vidamos.blogspot.com >>>> Visit Entry Page http://davidamos.blogspot.com.br/ >>>> Visit Exit Page http://davidamos.blogspot.com.br/ >>>> Out Click >>>> Time Zone UTC-4:00 >>>> Visitor's Time Apr 17 2016 9:27:22 pm >>>> Visit Number 23,524 >>>> >> >> Etc Etc Etc >> >
Raymond Bungay
Dumb Maritimer
Carnivore
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